


Vampires, Werewolves, Pitch Perfect

by AubreyPosenEsquire



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:47:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 121,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27385918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AubreyPosenEsquire/pseuds/AubreyPosenEsquire
Summary: A retelling of the first Pitch Perfect movie with a few twists.Vampires and Werewolves are real and at Barden University. The Barden Bellas are on a mission for their first ICCA title.What will happen as first time captains Aubrey Posen and Chloe Beale take control?
Relationships: Ashley Jones/Jessica Smith, Benji Applebaum/Emily Junk, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen
Comments: 82
Kudos: 95





	1. The First Full Moon

**Author's Note:**

> First of all it's been just under two months since I started this fic. I had no idea just how large it would grow or how much I would adore it. 
> 
> First of all thank you to G for being my beta, my sounding board and my therapist as I worked to get this out. 
> 
> Second to the countless friends who have read and held my hand and talked me through this, thank you. It has been so needed and I am very grateful. 
> 
> Now, a big detail before we go on: 
> 
> Alice was the captain the year before this story starts when (almost) all the Bellas were freshman. She took the group to regionals where they came in third so they didn't progress farther. 
> 
> Another important point, this fic is already written - just over 120,000 words. So it will all be posted. Something I worry about with WIP personally. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy.

Barden University was special. It wasn’t the highly skilled professors, the nationally ranked acapella teams, or the beautiful campus surrounded by thick woods. Neither of those things really made Barden special. The student body on the other hand, did. 

In 1974, humans were let in on a small secret. Alright, small might be a slight understatement. The stories passed down from parent to child around campfires and bedsides were true. There really were things like vampires and werewolves among them. 

Both vampires and werewolves had been very good over the years of spreading lies about themselves to make sure humans wouldn’t know all that much about them. But once the secret was out and humans seemed to take it better than expected? They did try to correct some of the misinformation. 

No, vampires weren’t killed by sunlight though it did render them able to be harmed by mortal weapons. Every day or two they needed blood - animal blood would nourish them, but human blood fed their hunger on top of the nourishment - or they would grow progressively more aggressive. They belonged to clans but were solitary by instinct. And if you were to ask a vampire if they sparkled in the sun you were more likely to be slapped than answered. 

While vampires were often misrepresented, werewolves were all but slandered. No, they didn’t turn in to hybrid human and wolf creatures that were mindless killing machines during the full moon. They could shift back and forth from their human form to their wolf form when they wanted. While they were compelled to change during the full moon, it wasn’t to turn into a mindless beast. They lived in packs that helped create a sense of community for their members. They were often found touching, grooming each other. 

Werewolves could be placed in three general categories in terms of personality:

Alphas, who tended to be strong leaders and take jobs in the military, law enforcement or areas where leadership and or a strong personality were key;

Zetas, who tended to shy away from leadership roles and take work that allowed them to be more of a lone wolf;

Betas were a middle ground between the two other types and the type with the most variation.

While all werewolves fell into one of the three categories, they were personality based. Physically a large man who turned into a massive unit of a wolf could be a Zeta or Beta as easily as an Alpha.

As time marched on and humans returned to a comfortable truce with the other creatures, it became somehow more socially acceptable for vampires and werewolves to have a place in public life.

The reason Barden was special was because the university had become the first college that allowed humans, vampires and werewolves to be on the same campus publicly, about a decade or so after humans were let in on the secret. There were vampires and werewolves of course at every college across America, but most of the time they made it nearly impossible for the humans to know who was who. 

While Barden is no longer the only university that publicly allows humans, vampires, and werewolves to live and study and learn from each other in a semi-contained environment, it is still the gold standard for such mixing. 

And for those drawn to apply to Barden, well they are treated to a most wonderful experience. 

* * *

The breeze was warm as Aubrey Posen opened her car door and looked up at the building that would be her home during her last year at Barden University. Ivy grew up the sides, as if nature was trying to reclaim the building. There were times last year she wished it had. 

She was a senior now and the captain of the Barden Bellas. Well co-captain, but she was co-captain with her best friend so she tried not to let the fact she had not been named the sole captain sting too deeply. The former captain, a woman Aubrey swore was part troll, made it clear she didn’t trust Aubrey to lead the Bellas without help. 

She rolled her head around her neck, and let out a low hiss, still able to hear the words Alice said to her before leaving campus for the last time.“What does a vampire know about leading a group of mostly werewolves? Chloe might be a Beta but at least she’ll keep you from biting them.”

She had to remind herself Alice didn’t lead them very well either. They came in third at the Southeast regionals. With only the top two teams advancing it meant that the Bellas’ year was over three months into the academic year. After that, the freshman Bellas scattered a bit, not wanting to come to the Bella house and having to deal with Alica anymore than they already had. Aubrey had contacted them over the summer and was pleased all of the eligible members wanted back in for another try at a cappella domination. 

“Aubrey!” Her head snapped up when she heard the front door to Bella house open and a head of copper hair poke out. 

“Hello Chloe.” Aubrey’s lips curved into a smile. Chloe Beale was one of the few people, vampire, werewolf or human, who made Aubrey feel understood. From freshman roommates with both girls being far from home, to now co-captains of the Bellas, no-one had been there in the last three years for her the way Chloe had. “I see you’ve gotten a head start on cleaning.”

Chloe had a dust rag in her right hand and a can of cleaner in the other. “Got in last night and decided to get the place cleaned up so we could do our planning session without cobwebs hanging around us." Chloe said with a beaming smile.

Aubrey grabbed her bags from her car, and headed towards the house. Her movements were graceful as she walked, a hallmark of her kind. It was rare to meet a vampire that didn’t move fluidly. She stepped on the porch and opened her arms for the hug she knew Chloe was about to give her. A smile crossed her face as her friend found her way into her arms. They stood there a moment, enjoying being back together again. 

Aubrey didn’t breathe all the time, she didn’t need to at all if she didn’t want to, but she filled her lungs to try and get a sense of the state of the house. “Just how much lemon cleaner did you use?” The smell overwhelmed her a little.

“This place was pretty gross." Chloe said with a bashful smile as she pulled back. “I don’t think Alice did a very good job of cleaning it before locking it up for the summer.”

“I, for one, am shocked.” Aubrey’s face had a neutral expression but both women knew her thoughts on Alice. 

Chloe giggled as she opened the door wider so Aubrey could enter. “I figured you should have the master suite.”

“Oh?” Aubrey hadn’t thought about which of them would take the first floor bedroom with it’s own bathroom. 

“You’re the oldest and it just makes sense. Besides, I’m a pack animal.” Chloe gave a proud smirk at her joke. “I’m going to want to share space with a roommate.”

“Thank you then." Aubrey said softly. She had learned a long time ago when Chloe offered up something like this she did so willingly. 

Chloe tossed herself on the couch in the living room while Aubrey went and put her bag in her new bedroom. She was back a few seconds later, sitting down on the end of the couch. 

“When we joined freshman year, did you think we’d both end up as captains?” Aubrey looked around at the house that saw several generations of Bellas grow up. 

“No.” Chloe shook her head. “I normally don’t think of myself as the leadership type. Only Beta in a family of Alphas will do that to a girl.” 

Aubrey didn’t miss the slight hint of sadness in her friend’s face. “We’re going to win the ICCA’s this year. Because you and I are a great team. Alpha or not, you are a great leader.” She reached over to place her cool hand on Chloe’s warm one. 

“Thank you, Bree. That means a lot.” Chloe turned her hand, linking their fingers. She had learned long ago to handle the feeling of being touched by a vampire. She was the only one she knew Aubrey willingly touched anyway and she didn’t want to take that contact from her friend. “Come on, your hands are cold. Let me make you some tea and we can start crossing things off the list I know you made for this conversation.”

Aubrey got to her feet as the pair headed to the kitchen in the back of the house. There was comfort in being known as well as Chloe knew her. She didn’t have to explain who she was nor did Chloe. They could just be themselves around the other. 

“Have you thought about who should room together?” Aubrey sat at the table while Chloe worked on getting two cups of tea made. 

“Jessica and Ashley." Chloe said as she looked over at Aubrey after putting the water on to heat. 

“Naturally. They’re the only other two vampires in the house, unless we bring another one in with auditions.” Aubrey agreed. “And with their romantic relationship being almost a year old, I think it’s safe to say they’ll want some privacy.” 

“In this house?” Chloe laughed. “They’ll be lucky to get much privacy, even if they are rooming together.” She poured the heated water over the teabags as she nodded. “I thought Lilly and Cynthia-Rose could share too. Lilly keeps to herself most of the time when she isn’t whispering and she and Cynthia-Rose get along well enough.” 

“Sounds reasonable." Aubrey said with a simple nod. “I know enough about Alphas, even ones as reasonable as Beca and Stacie, to know we shouldn’t have them room together, right?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d room up with Stacie.” Chloe brought the steaming mugs over to the table. 

“Not Beca?” Aubrey asked.

Chloe’s cheeks turned a little pink. “There is something going on between us. We’re not dating but we’re not, not dating. I don’t want to have her show up and see I roomed us together and feel pressured.”

Aubrey wrapped one hand around her mug of tea and the other hand reached out to rest it over Chloe’s hand. “You and Stacie will make good roommates.”

Chloe gave her best friend a warm smile. “We should put Fat Amy on the third floor. She’s the only human and it’s away from the rest. I think it would be for the best.”

The Bellas had gone through times when they were mostly human, mostly vampires, mostly werewolf and more equal mixes between the three. Right now they were werewolf heavy but auditions were a chance to maybe even that out some. 

“That leaves Beca with her own room until we bring in someone else." Aubrey said before sipping her tea. Vampires were usually cool to the touch. Because Aubrey’s father was human, sometimes the coolness that her body naturally stayed at made her feel the chill more strongly. Vampires having children with humans and werewolves wasn’t an issue other than small things like feeling cold from time to time.

“I’m sure we’ll find at least one person to get us back to ten." Chloe said.

Aubrey turned her attention to the reason both were here this early. “We have regionals in two months, semis three months after that and finals another three months after semis. I’d like to try to get an idea what we want to do for regionals in the next week or two.”

“We should talk to Beca about some of her mixing skills. She showed me some over the summer when she came down to Portland for two weeks.” Chloe’s cheeks burned a little as Aubrey’s eyebrow rose. 

“Saw each other over the summer, did you?” Aubrey kept her eyebrow up until Chloe had to look away. She was more surprised Chloe hadn’t mentioned it to her than it happened. 

“We don’t live that far from each other." Chloe mumbled a little. “It was nice to see someone from here.”

“After we all get moved in, I’ll have Beca show me some options.” Aubrey was willing to at least see what Beca had to offer. The little DJ was talented so Aubrey was willing to give her a chance. The final decision would rest in her hands though, with Chloe’s input heavily weighed. 

It was nearly two hours later when Chloe and then Aubrey’s heads tilted up. They had got caught up in their conversation until their extremely acute hearing picked up the creak of someone walking up the steps in front of the Bella House. 

“Hey, anyone in here?” A voice called from outside. “Aubrey? Chlo?” 

Chloe beamed at the scent she caught now that her mind had been pulled out of her conversation with Aubrey. The pair moved from the kitchen, Chloe opening the door. 

“Beca!” Chloe grinned at the younger woman before pulling her into a hug. 

Beca allowed the hug from her, having never been very good at keeping a strong sense of personal space around Chloe. “Hey, you smell like you dipped yourself in lemon cleaner.” She laughed softly before pulling back. 

“This place was a mess when I got here last night. But I managed to make it livable.” Chloe kept her left hand on Beca’s waist, not wanting to let her go. Her right hand lifted up to play with the ends of Beca’s hair.

Beca blushed at the slight grooming gesture, it was flirting in werewolf. She didn’t pull away from Chloe though, it felt nice to be wanted like this. Her eyes turned to Aubrey and she gave a smile.

“How was your summer?” Beca asked as her left hand rose to play with the ends of Chloe’s hair. 

“Went by quickly. Spent most of it reading and catching up with my family.” Aubrey didn’t know much about how werewolves flirted with each other but watching the way that Chloe and Beca were interacting made her feel like she was seeing something shifting into place between them. “Yours?”

Beca turned her head from Aubrey for a moment to look into Chloe’s eyes. Both women shared a little private smile before Beca turned her head to face Aubrey again. “Spent most of it in Seattle. Pretty low key. Worked on some mixes, got some good coffee. Nothing major.”

A rumble caught Aubrey’s attention as Beca finished speaking. She looked over Beca’s head to see someone on a motorcycle heading towards them. The bike looked, to her untrained eye at least, new with polished chrome and a black paint job. The person on the bike was blacked out to match, dark jeans with leather chaps over them, a leather jacket and a black helmet with a tinted visor. 

As the bike pulled up in front of Bella House, it came to a stop just before the gravel area they all parked turned to grass. The rider swung their leg over the back of the bike before reaching under their chin and unclipping their helmet. As their long dark hair fell out, they swung their head around to shake it out. 

“A Harley looks good on you, Stace." Beca called from the porch. 

“I look good on a Harley.” She grinned as she set her helmet on the bike and walked over, thumbs lopped in her belt. “2020 Harley Fat Boy. A gift from my pack for my grades as a freshman.” She stepped up on the porch, standing several inches taller than the other three. 

Aubrey’s eyes didn’t leave Stacie during her short walk from the bike to the porch. They had something between them last year. Study sessions for a shared science class. Coffee afterwards where they shared bits of themselves they didn’t so freely share with others. Dancing together at a few parties towards the end of the year. It added up to a warm feeling washing over her when she saw Stacie but little else. Yet. 

“We should go check out the area we’re going to be spending our full moons." Chloe said, her voice a little squeaky. Her arms slowly moving away from Beca now that another Alpha was around. It wasn’t that Chloe thought Stacie would try anything with her it was just that Chloe knew Stacie would be aware of what their flirting meant in much more practical terms than Aubrey. 

The four women left the porch and started walking towards the back of the house. The area they were designated was about a 10 minute walk.

“I’ve already spoken to Ashley and Jessica. The three of us will be watching over you during the full moon. It will be good bonding and if another pack tries to stir something up, we’ll be able to put a stop to it.” Aubrey didn’t think much would happen outside of maybe another group on campus trying a prank but she was unprepared to risk it. 

“Let them try." Beca said with a low growl in her voice. “Between Stacie, me, and three vampires I think we’ll be more than able to defend our pack.”

Chloe had a pleased look at her face when Beca growled, something that did not go by unnoticed from Stacie or Aubrey. They shared a look as they walked side by side behind Chloe and Beca. 

“I’m hoping no one tries." Stacie said, noticing that Beca’s hand slipped into Chloe’s. Something else she wasn’t ready to comment on just yet. “We have a strong pack, and the vampire backup helps too.” 

The four women reached the area they were to spend their full moons, a thick forest all around a football field size area of grass. The three wolves scanned the area with keen vision, Aubrey adding hers, though her night vision was her true asset

Beca was the first to speak. “This will work, I think. Five wolves in here, plus three vampires. There should be enough space for us all to run around without being on top of each other.”

“Being on top of each other sounds fun though." Stacie winked at her, a grin playing on her lips. 

Beca opened her mouth to reply but didn’t have anything she didn’t think Stacie would turn even dirtier to give back.

“What are we going to need in terms of supplies?” Aubrey asked to give Beca some cover to recover from Stacie’s comment. She had not been around anyone but Chloe in a full moon induced state. 

“A few large bowls of water and ice, some blankets to lay on, cubes of raw meat to toss to us." Stacie said as she started listing things off on her fingers. 

“Seriously, raw meat?” Aubrey wasn’t sure if the younger girl was pranking her or not. 

“We get hungry." Beca said as her face grew a little red. Explaining all of this to someone, even someone like Aubrey, was a bit terrifying, “and we get more aggressive if we’re hungry.”

Aubrey made a mental note to make sure she remembered food above all else. The last thing she needed was either Beca or Stacie to get hangry and have to break up a fight. She knew how large some wolves were and liked the ability to say she had never been in the middle of a wolf fight before. 

“Most wolves won’t use, like, dog toys, but having some tennis balls honestly isn’t a bad idea." Chloe spoke up. 

Beca made a face but had to admit running after a tennis ball wasn’t the worst thing she could be doing during a full moon. “No weird dog toys though. We’re not dogs. We’re creatures of the night. Powerful. And stuff...”

Stacie held back a snort. “I’ll go shopping with you, Aubrey. Sometimes it’s easier to show then tell.”

“Thank you.” Aubrey’s eyes met Stacie’s and she smiled. They held eye contact for longer than needed even as Chloe and Beca shared a look between them over it. 

“Why don’t we walk the parameter?” Beca suggested. “Chloe and I can start on one side and you two can start on the other. We can meet in the middle.”

Before anyone could disagree Beca took Chloe’s hand and started walking with her towards the right side of the field. 

“Aubrey has been through this with me before." Chloe whispered to Beca. They were still too close for her risking speaking in a normal voice. Even if she knew Aubrey - if not Stacie too - might still be able to hear her. “I just always made it easy on her. I ate before, drank the tea, I curled up on my bed, I didn’t ask much of her. But she isn’t going to balk at what will need to be done.”

Beca kept her head on a swivel as they walked, she was making sure she knew this area well if she ever was called on it to defend her pack. “My family didn’t talk about this sort of thing with outsiders. We’d go into the backyard and just all lay down. That was it. When my dad left my mom would just lay there and look up at the moon like she was waiting for him to come home.” Beca’s voice was soft as she opened up to Chloe. It was still difficult to see her father as anyone else but the man who broke her mother’s heart. 

“It’s going to be different this year.” Chloe let go of Beca’s hand to reach up and start running her fingers through Beca’s hair. “You’ll have me and the rest of the Bellas. We can run together, groom each other, and sleep under the moon.” 

Beca stopped walking after a few heavenly moments of Chloe running her hand through her hair. It felt exquisite to have someone touching her like this. To have her hair played with by someone who knew how it made her feel. The few months she was with Jesse last year when she was a freshman, he just couldn’t get it right. 

“Will you go to dinner with me?” Beca turned to face Chloe directly. “Like as a date. On a date. Will you go on a date with me?” Beca felt her palms sweating a little as she looked up into Chloe’s blue eyes. She poked her tongue out to lick over her suddenly dry lips. The longer it took Chloe to answer the more she wanted to run as fast and far in the opposite direction as she could. 

Chloe was shocked Beca had finally asked her out, not to mention used the term date. For a moment her face was frozen before a wide grin burst out. “I would totally love to go on a date with you.” 

Beca reached up and brushed the hair off of Chloe’s shoulder before standing on her tiptoes to be able to lean in to Chloe. She breathed in the scent that was warm like cinnamon, sweet like honeysuckle and something that was just pure Chloe. Leaning a bit forward when she felt Chloe’s arms around her waist to steady her, she nuzzled against Chloe’s neck. Her nose trailing over the slightly freckled skin before her teeth started nipping very lightly. 

Chloe felt a shock go through her every time Beca nipped at her skin. A mix of lightning and want and knowing the person in her arms would be careful with her. 

“Feels good." Chloe said in a breathy voice. 

“Can I leave a mark?” Beca whispered against Chloe’s neck. She didn’t want to leave a big one but something for her to look at over the next few days and grin to herself. The others would be able to smell them on each other anyway so she felt giving in to this side of her wasn’t anymore risky than kissing Chloe’s neck in the first place.

“Yes." Chloe breathed her answer out with a slight whine to her voice. 

On the other side of the field Stacie and Aubrey were walking side by side. Stacie’s chaps rustled a little bit as she walked. They were closer than they needed to be to each other. Sometimes if they moved just right the back of their hands would touch.

“I see your Chloe and Beca are getting along pretty well." Stacie said after catching their mixed scents on the wind and looking over at the pair. 

“Doing that, the nuzzling and all the rest, it means good things for them, doesn’t it?” Aubrey asked, wanting it confirmed by someone who would know more than she did. Though her own reading of the body language left little doubt she was correct. 

“That’s the wolf equivalent of like first base. Second if Beca leaves a mark on Chloe’s neck." Stacie said as she and Aubrey started walking again. 

Aubrey watched over Stacie’s shoulder for a moment before turning her attention back to the woods. “Things are different between your kind and mine. Touch isn’t something that vampires give easily. Not when romantic intentions are involved.”

“How does one court a vampire?” Stacie asked, trying to sound like she wouldn’t be committing the answer to memory. 

“You’ve slept with vampires before, I’m sure." Aubrey kept her eyes on the wood line. 

“Sure." Stacie answered, “but I’ve never dated one, it was always just sex. Male vampires aren’t that much different than male werewolves or male humans. Even if they had to be reminded not to leave permanent bite marks more than either.”

Aubrey felt her fangs drop but kept her mouth shut to keep Stacie from seeing her reaction. She didn’t want the younger woman to know just how much of a reaction to the idea of Stacie having sex with a vampire she was having.

“There is usually a lot of build up." Aubrey finally said when she got her fangs under control. “Time spent together. To see if the two are compatible before any moves are made. Vampires live a long time. We have the time to see if things are likely to work out before taking the risk.”

“When you live far past werewolf or human lifetimes, it makes sense to take your time." Stacie said with a nod. She put her hand on Aubrey’s arm and guided her nearer to the trees when she noticed how pink Aubrey’s face was getting. She knew vampires could be in the sun but she also knew they had a near allergic reaction to it if they were in it for more than an hour or so. And they were nearing that point. 

“Thank you." Aubrey whispered when she figured out what Stacie had done. 

“Don’t mention it.” Stacie turned her head and gave a dazzling smile to Aubrey. 

Aubrey looked back to the woods but felt herself smiling. Her head turned back straight when they reached Chloe and Beca who still hadn’t moved. 

“You two having fun?” Stacie laughed softly at the pair. 

Beca’s head jerked up from where she had been nuzzling and tracing her tongue over the mark she made on Chloe’s neck. Her cheeks were a brilliant shade of red. 

“I - we were just -.” Beca looked away with a grin she couldn’t get off of her face. 

“Ready to go back to Bella House?” Chloe asked with bright eyes and her own matching grin. 

“I think that’s a good idea. Get Aubrey out of the sun and find something for lunch." Stacie said as they four all turned toward Balla House. 

Aubrey smiled as she saw her best friend’s hand taken by Beca as she and Chloe walked in front of herself and Stacie. She tried not to think about how appealing holding hands with the women beside her sounded. 

* * *

Aubrey woke a few days later to someone in her room. She could feel the tiny vibrations of their heartbeat as her mind slowly came to her. Her fangs dropped before she breathed in. A moment later her eyes opened and came face to face with her best friend sitting on the edge of her bed. It wasn’t unusual for Chloe to be in her space, Aubrey had grown used to a pair of blue eyes on her. But this was the first time in over a year she had woken up to Chloe in her bed. It had been the first time all summer she had slept. 

“What do I owe this early morning visit to?” Aubrey took the offered mug of tea, holding it between her hands once she sat up. Her teeth returned to normal now that she knew she wasn’t in danger. 

“Beca asked me on a date." Chloe said, her face breaking into a grin. 

“I had a feeling that was going to happen when I saw your neck.” Aubrey reached up to brush Chloe’s hair back and reveal the two marks on her friend’s neck. The original one placed there when Beca asked her out and a second that looked fresher. 

Chloe ducked her head but her grin only grew. “I really like her, Bree.”

Aubrey’s smile was soft, her voice slightly teasing. “I would hope so if you’re going to keep playing with her hair. Stacie clued me in to the meaning there. She said it was pretty serious flirting from the you to do that now that Cynthia-Rose, Lilly and she are around.”

Werewolves touching each other was common no matter the status of their relationship as long as they were at least acquaintances. Grooming behavior towards each other, playing with hair or fingers, nuzzling each other’s neck was usually reserved for close friends, pack mates or in the case of romantically unattached wolves like Beca and Chloe, considered major flirting.

“I can’t help it. I just want to groom her and let her nuzzle my neck." Chloe flopped down on the bed, her head on Aubrey’s pillow. “I want to show her I know the beats of the song she wants to sing.”

“You are a hopeless romantic, you know that?” Aubrey asked. 

“I am aca-awesome, excuse you.” Chloe winked which got a snort from Aubrey.

“Not that I don’t want you laying on my bed at 8:34 am. But is your desire to keep publicly grooming Beca all you wanted to talk about?” Aubery asked. 

“I’m her captain." Chloe whispered after a moment’s pause. “Co-captain. Whatever.”

“You are.” Aubrey replied. “But she is also one of two Alphas in our group. Which puts her in a power position over you in terms of how I understand pack dynamics.”

Chloe slowly nodded as she thought about the point that Aubrey was making. “It’s not like Beca or Stacie are the boss of me or the others. But yeah, we do have an innate desire to defer to them sometimes.”

“So she holds some sway over you and you hold some sway over her." Aubrey remarked. 

Chloe thought for a moment about Aubrey’s point. Her grin was back in full force. “You know there are two Alphas in the house. And I think one of them might have caught your eye." She said with a hint of glee in her eye.

It was Aubrey’s turn to blush under the bright lights of a best friend’s gaze. “I like being around Stacie, I like talking to her. But I don’t know if it’s a road we’ll end up going down.”

“Why?” Chloe asked, as blunt as ever. “She’s attractive, you’re attractive. She is one of the few people who can challenge you in a way that you don’t become defensive. And I can smell her on you way more than I smell anyone on you other than myself.”

“We hug sometimes." Aubrey admitted. “She’s warm. And when I get cold it’s nice to have someone taller than me to wrap me up.” She ran a hand through her hair to try and settle her now unsettled mind. 

“I know you. You don’t let people touch you without being sure it’s what you want.” As if to demonstrate the point Chloe reached over and put her hand on Aubrey’s forearm. 

“Let’s get through the next few weeks of getting the Bellas up and running before we go plotting my romantic life, alright?” Aubrey requested.

“Vampires move way too slow.” Chloe rolled her eyes dramatically but then leaned over to kiss Aubrey’s cheek. Aubrey soaked up the moment like she always did when her dearest friend was around. 

“You’ve said that about us before." Aubrey chuckled. “Come on, let’s go make breakfast for the others. Five wolfs and Fat Amy to feed this year, at least. We might need to update the budget to include more for food.” Most werewolves could eat twice as much as they would if they were humans at any given meal. 

Chloe laughed as the two women headed to the kitchen.

Aubrey - who for someone who never needed to eat was a very good cook - and Chloe - who could hold her own - started to get a large family style breakfast on the table with eggs, pancakes, bacon and hash browns, the scent of the food and coffee started to pull the others towards them in the kitchen. 

“Coffee." Beca groaned as she walked into the kitchen. The scent of the food and coffee waking her up and pulling her downstairs. 

“Here ya go." Chloe greeted as she handed Beca a cup of black coffee with a smile.

“Thanks." Beca said through a yawn before moving to the table to sit down. She looked younger than her nineteen years in her oversized blue t-shirt and sleep pants with stars on them.

Ashley and Jessica made their way in next, hand in hand as they took seats on the far end of the table. Like Aubrey they didn’t need to ever eat human food, they liked to share meal time with their friends. Sometimes they might pick at some bacon in the mornings, because who doesn’t like bacon?

“Morning." Ashley said, her arm moving to the back of Jessica’s chair so her girlfriend could tuck herself against her side.

“Morning." Beca barely had her eyes open as she slipped her coffee. 

“Good morning." Jessica smiled as she tucked herself against Ashley. 

“Any plans for today?” Chloe asked as she pulled a jug of orange juice out of the fridge to set on the table. 

“Jess and I have to start working on her audition for the fall play, “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. I’m doing the hair and makeup this semester so it’s quality bonding time.” Ashley turned her head to press a kiss to the top of Jessica’s. 

“Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, she sounds very posh even if she’s not really." Jessica said, her hand resting on Ashley’s leg. 

“We’ll all go to see it when it comes out." Aubrey moved a stack of pancakes to the table. She had no doubt Jess would get the part if she auditioned for it. “Once you’re cast, give me your rehearsal schedule and I’ll make sure that Bella practice doesn’t conflict as much as possible.”

“I need to give you my schedule at the radio station. I’m not a freshman anymore so I can get booth time." Beca looked excited at the idea of getting to do some real work at the station as her coffee kicked in.

“I need to give you my tutoring schedule too." Stacie said as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes lingering on Aubrey for a few seconds longer than she needed to. “I got a part time job in the student help center. Looks good for internships next year.”

Aubrey handed her a cup of coffee without thinking about it, knowing how she took it with half a spoon of sugar in the morning. 

“Thanks, Bree.” Stacie’s voice was soft as her fingers brushed Aubrey’s in the exchange for the mug. “You’re the best.” She winked before taking a seat between Ashley and Beca. 

Lilly was followed in by Cynthia-Rose just as the final bits of food were put on the table. 

“When I went up to tell Fat Amy breakfast was soon, she grunted and flipped me off. Something about going out last night and just getting back?” Cynthia-Rose explained as she sat across from Stacie with Lilly beside her. 

“Yeah, because you can sneak in and out in the house with five wolves and three vampires. We all heard her going out last night." Stacie snorted. 

“And she lives on the top floor." Cynthia-Rose added with a laugh. 

Chloe took her place next to Beca, glad Aubrey left it open and instead took the spot next to Lilly. She reached her hand out and rested it on Beca’s leg, earning a smile from the DJ. 

“Do you want to come walk to the station with me, maybe check out how much campus has changed since last year?” Beca asked, wanting to spend time with Chloe while they had the time to spare. 

“That sounds great." Chloe answered with a blush and a smile. She didn’t have to look up to know everyone was watching their interaction.

“If you need a list of the best places on campus to make out, let me know. I have them listed by location and also privacy level." Stacie sent the couple a wink. 

“Of course you do." Ashley laughed.

“Hey, a lot of them are areas I use to study too. Double duty.” Stacie grinned back at her.

Aubrey sat back and watched as the Bellas all teased each other and ate their breakfast. There was something calming to her about being around this group of women that she got from no other group. Her family was much more formal around her and this group really was her main support system. 

Aubrey sat up a little straighter when she heard boots on the steps outside. They weren’t expecting anyone today. Her eyes caught Jessica and Ashley’s before she stood up. They both sat a little straighter but made no move to get up. They would be waiting for Aubrey to call if she needed. The others were all too consumed with eating to notice the change in the three Vampires.

Aubrey excused herself to head to the door to see who was there. When she opened it she came face to face with a woman who looked to be in her late forties, with her a teenage girl just about college age. 

“Ms. Posen. My name is Katherine Junk, this is my daughter Emily.” The older women smiled. “I was a Barden Bella in the 80’s and a captain in my last year. I assume you know why we’re here?”

Aubrey slowly nodded as she understood why Katherine and Emily were there. “Bella by-laws state any daughter of a past Bella can request an up or down vote on being admitted as a Bella in their own right.” Legacies were somewhat rare but they happened. Aubrey technically wasn’t a Legacy as her older sister was a member and her mother obviously wasn’t. 

“We can come back if it’s a bad time." Emily said, looking like a puppy who was excited at the whole experience. 

“If you wouldn’t mind giving us thirty minutes?” Aubrey suggested. 

“That’s fine." Katherine agreed. “Let’s go get some tea to soothe your throat before you sing." She said to her daughter who happily walked away with her. 

Aubrey turned and shut the door before heading back to the kitchen where the others had finished eating and started to clean up. 

“Who was at the door?” Beca asked, having noticed something was happening when Aubrey stepped away. 

“Former Bella and her daughter. She has requested that her daughter get an up or down vote on joining." Aubrey explained. 

“A legacy?” Chloe looked excited. 

“So this one gets to skip the normal process?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

“She does." Aubrey confirmed. “She gets to sing, we vote yes or no and if she gets 60% or more of the vote, she’s in. They will be back in thirty minutes. They gave us some time to get dressed.”

“Alright Bellas, everyone go put some clothes on and let’s see if Legacy is worth her salt." Chloe said with a glint in her eye. 

It didn’t take them the full thirty minutes to get changed and meet down in the living room but they didn’t have all that much time to spare. 

Aubrey stood in front of them all. “Katherine Junk is an icon from her era of the Bellas. She was also a captain and sits on the Bella High Council.”

“There’s a Bella High Council?” Beca’s eyes went a bit wide. 

“They mostly handle the money, any direct disciplinary action, make sure we have the support we need and act to help us with life once we’re out of Barden." Aubrey explained. 

“So we want to play nice?” Ashley wondered.

“We want to be fair. If Emily, her daughter, is terrible we should vote not to admit her. If she’s really good it’s an easy vote in. In the middle we all need to vote our conscience." Aubrey said. 

“Lean yes if you’re in doubt." Chloe said, saying the quiet part out loud. “What, you were thinking about it!” She smirked at Aubrey when she gave her a slightly incredulous look. 

Before they could go on there was a knock on the door. Aubrey looked at it for a moment before walking over to open it once again.

Emily was standing on the porch alone this time. While Katherine could get Emily’s foot in the door, so to speak, this part was up to Emily. 

“Come in, please." Aubrey said as she directed Emily to the living room where the Bellas were all waiting. 

“Hi!” Emily beamed at all of them. “I’m Emily Junk and I’m super excited to be here.”

Aubrey sat down on the edge of the couch next to Chloe. “Alright, Emily. Whenever you’re ready.”

Emily nodded as she looked around the room at the women who already intimidated her a little bit. “So um I thought I’d do Begin Again by Taylor Swift.” She explained. When she saw a few smiles back at her she felt the knot in her belly loosen a little bit. 

“Took a deep breath in the mirror / He didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do / Turned the lock and put my headphones on / He always said he didn't get this song but I do, I do…”

Emily started singing, her eyes closed as she tried to focus on the words and letting her voice do the work for her. 

Aubrey leaned forward as Emily gained steam as she went. She was good, a little rough and her breathing technique could use work but she had talent. As she looked around the room, judging by the smiles she saw, she mentally tallied the votes and knew how it would end up. 

Chloe shifted a little closer to Beca on the couch, kissing her temple before turning her attention back to Emily, her hands toying with Beca’s hair while Emily sang.

“Then on a Wednesday in a café I watched it begin again.” Emily finished the song and looked at them like a puppy who just learned a new trick. 

Aubrey stood back up, hands folded in front of her. “Thank you Emily, if you would just step to the porch and give us a moment to talk it over and vote?”

“Sure thing!” Emily gave an excited smile and rushed out of the house.

Beca was the first one to speak up once Emily was outside. “She’s got a good voice.”

“She’ll add some height." Stacie commented. 

“Another Beta isn’t going to shift the team balance off." Chloe said. She could smell her type as soon as she walked in. They were werewolf heavy this year which was a bit unusual. Both the campus and the Bellas had a strong influx of them over the last four years.

“I think blending her into the numbers won’t be that hard. She has talent." Ashley agreed. 

“If we saw her at option try outs we’d want her." Jessica commented. She was already sitting on Ashley’s lap but she moved to be a little closer, enjoying the position. 

“Any negatives?” Aubrey asked the room.

Lilly whispered something that no one could hear, her head tilting while her lips made the fish motion again.

“She closes her eyes when she sings, what’s up with that?” Fat Amy asked.

“She’s got to be nervous. I mean her mom was a Bella captain and she has to sing in a room with us like this." Ashley piped up. 

Aubrey let them talk a few more moments before she held her hand up to stop the debate. “Alright. It’s time for an up or down vote. All in favor of having Emily join the Bellas, say aye.”

“Aye.” All of the Bellas except Fat Amy called out nay.

“Why’d you vote no, Amy?” Beca asked.

“She has giraffe legs." Amy shuttered. 

Aubrey fought the urge to roll her eyes at Amy. Leaving the living room, she made her way to the front door and opened it. When she saw Katherine and Emily standing there, she smiled at them. 

“Would the two of you please come inside?” Aubrey gestured. 

Katherine readjusted her purse on her shoulder before heading into the Bella house for the first time in over twenty years. She noticed how the wall colors were different, how it felt more like a home now. 

“So, did I get in?” Emily asked nervously. 

“You did." Aubrey said, giving her what she hoped was a welcoming smile. “The official ceremony isn’t for a few days but the vote was in your favor.”

Emily turned and hugged her mother. The two women grinned as everyone clapped at the newest Bella. Katherine had tears in her eyes as she looked down at her daughter. Her eyes with the Bellas were some of her best memories and now her daughter would have some of her own.

“Honey, all I can tell you if you’re in for a wild ride." Katherine smiled down at her daughter.

* * *

The mid afternoon of the first full moon of the school year saw Aubrey standing next to Stacie’s motorcycle. The brunette had been trying to get Aubrey on the bike since they all returned to campus.

“We have to get supplies, wouldn’t it be easier to take my car?” Aubrey questioned again. 

“The saddlebags are big enough to handle everything. Trust me, ok?” Stacie had a spare leather jacket in her hand and a spare helmet in her other. 

Aubrey couldn’t help give in to Stacie on this. She had never been on a motorcycle before but the idea of sharing a ride with Stacie was appealing. Though she still was delaying thinking too seriously about her feelings. “Alright. We can take your bike.”

Stacie’s face lit up as she offered the leather jacket to Aubrey. She already had on jeans and boots so Stacie didn’t need her to change. “Ok, let’s talk rules.”

“Rules?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“No wiggling back there. Seriously, this isn’t me being well me, sit close to me with your arms around me and try to mirror my moves on the bike. It will make my job a lot easier. I should be able to hear you if you talk somewhat loudly but save any non emergencies for lights or when we’re stopped.” Stacie explained the basics to her. “I’ll do a loop around campus to make sure you’re comfortable before we take public roads. If you’re not comfortable, let me know and we can take your car, ok?”

“Sounds good." Aubrey said. It put her at ease that Stacie was giving her details of how to handle all of this. She let Stacie help her get the helmet on and make sure it was secure. 

She flipped down the pegs for Aubrey to put her feet on before she straddled the bike and set it up straight. “I’ll go slow for you, no tricks.”

There was something in Stacie’s eyes that made Aubrey slowly nod. She knew how Stacie worked. So far their relationship had been nothing but respectful to the pace Aubrey set. She had never expected Stacie to want her let alone be interested enough to take things slowly. “Alright. I trust you.”

Once Aubrey was on the back of the bike and her hands were firmly around Stacie’s waist, she started the bike. It always took her a moment to adjust with her sensitive hearing to handle the sound of the Harley but she was getting more used to it. She breathed out slowly as she felt Aubrey hold on a bit tighter. She held her left hand out in a thumbs up sign to make sure that Aubrey was ready for this. She wasn’t sure having Aubrey be so very close to her was as good of an idea as she thought it would be. 

Aubrey unwrapped her left arm from around Stacie’s waist to return the sign. She was a vampire. She would almost surely survive if there were any kind of crash with the sun hidden behind thick cloud cover. 

When Aubrey tucked both arms around her waist again, Stacie gave the bike a bit of throttle and started moving them once she was sure it was clear. It was different driving the bike with someone on the back. She had ridden with passengers before but not on her new bike. Having the captain of the Bellas pressed up against her back was doing things to her she hadn’t expected. But she wouldn’t trade this for the world. 

For Aubrey, it was as close to flying as she thought she might ever get. The wind swirling around them, the feeling of Stacie, warm and solid against her front, the vibration making her body slightly off kilter like a cat in a car. She pressed herself a little closer, trying not to throw Stacie off. She could barely read Stacie’s heart rate with the bike’s vibration interfering but she swore when she shifted closer Stacie’s heart rate went up. She couldn’t help but be pleased with herself for that. 

After a loop around campus Stacie checked in with Aubrey before taking off to a store about 15 minutes away. It had mostly pet supplies but because of the location relative to the college campus had a fairly good selection for werewolves. They would be able to get the water bowls, a few ropes and maybe something silly for Beca just to mess with her. 

Getting off of the bike once Stacie pulled into the parking lot and parked, Aubrey felt her legs wobble a little. It didn’t last long but it made her feel more human than most activities did. 

“How was it?” Stacie asked, beaming a little as she hung the helmets by the handlebar. 

“I might be willing to go with you on that thing after today." Aubrey answered, her hands slipping into the pockets on the borrowed leather jacket. 

“Total win for me then." Stacie laughed as they headed inside the store and to a second near the back. 

The store wasn’t overly crowded as Stacie and Aubrey made their way to the back. Mostly humans trying to find something for their pet, a few dogs on leashes by their owners. When they got to the special section in the back, they were the only ones around. 

“Alright, water bowls that will last all year.” Stacie tapped her chin as she looked at the options. 

“Rubber?” Aubrey suggested. 

“No way. It can rub against the bottom of our muzzles and get really uncomfortable." Stacie explained as she looked at some metal bowls instead. “Plus the metal is easier to clean.”

Aubrey had never thought about the logistics of all of this more than the basic needs. “Chloe usually just slept all night.”

“I’d wager she drank tea before she transformed, yeah?” Stacie looked over at Aubrey.

“She said it was to ease the transformation." Aubrey said, a little confused.

Stacie snorted. “It does. By knocking us out. She was trying to make life easier for you by drugging herself.”

Aubrey looked horrified at the thought that Chloe would do something like that just so she wasn’t at risk of feeling any discomfort. 

“Valerian root tea is harmless. It just makes us want to sleep and keeps some of our more wolfish behaviors from coming out. A lot of us have used it. I did last year a few times when I didn’t have anywhere to go to transform and I didn’t want to roam the woods." Stacie explained.

It didn’t make Aubrey feel much better but it did ease her guilt a bit. “These bowls are pretty big but they should fit in your saddlebags.” She turned her attention back to the task at hand.

Stacie grabbed three of them so they could space the water out in the field. “You, Jess and Ashley are going to have to refill them before the night is over. Bec and I already packed a cooler to take with water and we have been using the freezer in the basement to keep some frozen blocks of ice.”

“You didn’t put it directly on top of the blood there, did you?” Aubrey questioned.

“No. Jess helped us to make sure that it wouldn’t mess with your food. Beca and I didn’t want to screw it up." Stacie said with a shy smile. Messing with a vampire’s food sounded like a great way to get dead. 

Aubrey nodded approvingly as they moved from the area with the bowls to an area with thick rope pulls. She watched as Stacie’s finger tips reached out to slowly move over the ropes. Her head tilted as she just watched Stacie considered a dozen options. There was a focus in the brunette’s eyes as she made her choice.

“Th-these." Stacie cleared her throat as she looked at a white and blue rope that was about as thick as her wrist. The material was strong but soft to the touch with large knots on each end. She blushed a little bit as she grabbed 4 of them, her eyes looking anywhere but Aubrey. 

“Hey." Aubrey whispered, reaching her hand out to press it to Stacie’s leather clad forearm. “Whatever you need, whatever is going to make you happy or have fun during the full moon, you should do. Jess, Ashley and I? We have our own stuff that can be uncomfortable to explain to others too. But we’re Bellas and we stick together over anything else.”

Stacie brought her gaze up and locked her eyes up with Aubrey. She knew being at Barden meant she would be accepted but the tenderness in Aubrey’s face meant more to her than just about anything. “You’re a good person, Aubrey Posen.”

Aubrey couldn’t really blush, not unless she had just finished feeding, but she ducked her head like she was. “The same could be said about you, Stacie Conrad.” She slipped past Stacie to pick up a sack of tennis balls. “Anything else?”

Stacie looked around before grinning as she picked up a Kong and a can of cheese spread. “For Beca.” She let a smile come back to her lips. They had a long day and night before them, she didn’t have time to get caught up in her emotions. 

“She is going to kill you." Aubrey said with a smirk. 

“I think I could take her in a fight. I have a size advantage.” Stacie laughed. 

Aubrey shook her head as they walked to the front to pay. Aubrey used the Bellas’ account to pay for everything before they walked out with two bags. Aubrey still wasn’t sure this would fit on the bike but she trusted Stacie to make it work. 

“Hold these a moment.” Stacie handed the bags to Aubrey as she opened both saddle bags. After doing a little readjusting she was able to fit everything in one of the bags, leaving the other open for what they needed from the grocery store. 

“That’s talent." Aubrey said, impressed. 

“Oh, I have many talents. This isn’t even in the top twenty." Stacie laughed. 

Aubrey snorted, holding her hand out and taking the helmet when Stacie passed the spare back to her. 

“We have some time if you want to go for a longer ride before we go to the store." Stacie spoke without looking at Aubrey. She knew how much the older woman didn’t like to break her schedule when she had a plan in mind. 

“There is a meat shop about an hour from here. My freshman year I found it on a drive.” Aubrey’s hands stopped half way through buckling the helmet. “We could go there instead of the store by Bella House? We have plenty of time before nightfall.”

Stacie turned her head to Aubrey, her eyes a little darker than they usually were. “Perfect.”

Aubrey found herself on Stacie’s bike again a few moments later. This time she moved to press flush against her from the start. She could feel the slight way Stacie pushed back against her so there wasn’t space for anything between them. As the bike roared to life, Aubrey was sure this time Stacie’s heartbeat sped up. 

—————

“Shouldn’t they have been back by now?” Beca and Chloe were laying in a hammock on the side of Bella house as the sun set behind them. 

“Aubrey texted me before I walked out saying they were about twenty minutes away." Chloe was cuddled up against Beca’s side, using her shoulder as a pillow. Since it was Georgia in late August so while it wasn’t as hot as a few weeks ago it was still warmer than the Pacific Northwest they both came from. 

Beca turned her head to press her cheek against the top of Chloe’s head. She could lay just like this for more or less forever and be happy to do it. “They are good for each other.”

Chloe slipped her hand under Beca’s shirt, tracing patterns on her side as she hummed in agreement. “I haven’t seen Aubrey open up to anyone but me like she is with Stacie. She has other friends but this isn’t that.”

Beca toyed with bits of Chloe’s hair as she tried not to move too much and have her hand stop what it was doing. The light touches, the way they fit together like they were carved from the same bit of marble, the ease of it all made Beca feel like she was right where she needed to be.

“I know I asked you out and I haven’t mentioned it since. But I was hoping this Monday we could go out?” Beca changed the subject from one Bella captain to the other. And if she was honest her favorite of the two, not that it was all that hard to guess. She wanted to give them a night or two to recover from the full moon before taking her out. 

“Do I get to know the plan?” Chloe asked, turning her head to give Beca’s jaw a soft kiss as her response. 

“There is a Blues club that I slipped away to a few times last year, one of my favorites is playing Monday night. I thought we could get dinner and then go hear some live music. It’s not a cappella but they are still pretty amazing." Beca explained her plan. She just hoped it wasn’t too lame for Chloe. 

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Blues fan." Chloe splayed her fingers over Beca’s ribs. “I can’t wait for Monday night.” She leaned up to kiss Beca, unable to help herself. Her lips moved against Beca’s, parting when she felt a tongue slide against her bottom lip. 

Beca shifted slightly as she deepened the kiss. Her hand sliding up to cup the redhead’s cheek. She had kissed men before but their lips had never felt so soft, she never felt butterflies in her belly spring to life quiet this way before. She pulled back when she heard the distant voices heading toward the house, breathing harder than she normally would be looked down at Chloe. 

“When we do that, it makes me want to run head first over the cliff with you. But we can’t. I don’t want to rush this, us. You deserve to have someone who will take their time with you, treat you right.” Beca bent her head down to give Chloe another kiss, keeping this one quick. “Not too slow but not a mad dash, yeah?”

The look in Chloe’s eyes matched the smile on her lips. “You are wonderful.” She leaned up to kiss Beca’s cheek. “I want to rush. Fly over the edge of the cliff. But you’re right, long term that is a bad idea if you and I want to make this work. So we take our time. Just not vampire slow, ok?”

“No. Definitely not that slow." Beca answered with a shiver. 

Chloe craned her neck when she heard Stacie’s motorcycle in the distance. She leaned into Beca, her eyes closed. If they were back it would be nearly time for the group to gather and head to their field. Which meant nearly time for their first night of transformation as a Bella pack. 

“Tonight, maybe we can set our blankets next to each other?” Chloe asked. Each of the wolves would be bringing a blanket with them to bed down on if they wanted to sleep. 

“I was thinking maybe we could share a blanket?” The comment came out more as a question as Beca worried she undermined her point about taking it slowly. “I just want to be close to you and then it would smell like both of us.”

Chloe’s smile turned to a full blown grin as she looked up at Beca. “I’m going to kiss you until Aubrey and Stacie break us up.” She pulled the DJ down into a kiss, grinning against her lips when she eagerly kissed her back. 

As Stacie pulled up to the Bella House she felt a temptation to keep driving past the house and just keep riding with Aubrey pressed against her. It had been a wonderful afternoon for the pair, and Stacie had enjoyed the feeling of being around someone who could make her laugh and feel things she usually didn’t with others the way the Bella captain could. 

Turn into the Bella driveway she did though, parking her bike in the space she usually did. She let Aubrey off before swinging the kickstand and setting the Harley down. She got off, shaking one leg and then the other as the blood flow returned. 

“Do you want to go cut up the meat while I bring in the other supplies and go put the helmets back in my room?” Stacie suggested after flipping the visor up. 

Aubrey removed the helmet and shook her hair out. She hated to take off the leather jacket, it was comfortable and it smelled like Stacie still. She paused just a moment before she took the jacket off and handed it out to Stacie. “Sounds like a plan.” She opened one of the saddlebags and retrieved a large bag of different meat. 

“Keep it for now. So next time we go out you already have it." Stacie said with one of her trademark winks. 

Aubrey gave her a smile before taking the large bag of meat to be cut up out of one of the saddlebags and heading to the house to cut it up and put it on ice. 

Stacie stood there a moment to watch as Aubrey walked away from her. She would swear until her dying day that Aubrey put some wiggle in her hips as she walked. She shook her head to clear it before grabbing the other supplies from the saddlebag. 

Walking towards the house Stacie spied Beca and Chloe kissing in the hammock. “Hey Mitchell, got you a gift.” She tossed a bag to her, smirking as Beca opened the bag with the Kong and cheese spray inside of it. 

“Fuck you, Conrad.” Beca held up her left hand, middle finger extended. 

* * *

It started as an itch in the back of Stacie’s brain. An itch she knew that to scratch, her bones would have to be broken, her organs rearranged and her tendons contorted. She grabbed a blanket from the edge of her bed before heading downstairs to meet the others. 

“Is everyone here?” Stacie asked Beca, her voice lower than usual. Her eyes had taken a slightly more golden hue the higher the moon rose in the night’s sky. 

“Amy left a note on her bed saying she was, “getting a smoothie with Bumper” and took like half of her stuff." Beca explained. Amy was human and would have likely missed this anyway but Beca wanted Stacie updated. 

Stacie looked at the other Alpha and saw the tightness in her shoulders. She knew Beca’s brain was itching to transform as much as her own. As her golden eyes moved around the room she saw the tell-tale signs from all of the wolves they were as itchy as she was. 

“Let’s go." Beca said, walking to the door and opening it. “Stacie, you take the front and I’ll take the back.” They agreed already to bookend the group. While the chances of any real threats were small it was in their blood to be protective. 

Stacie stepped out first, walking to where the sidewalk started while the others came out of Bella House. All of the wolves were dressed in tank tops and shorts, they would need to undress after all before they transformed unless they wanted their clothing shredded. 

Aubrey did a headcount to make sure everyone was here and accounted for. Once she was sure everything was out of the house, that Beca had locked the front door and all were accounted for, she turned to Stacie. “Lead on." She said, giving control of her team, for the moment anyway, over to Stacie and Beca. 

Stacie locked eyes with Beca before turning to lead the group to their field. Aubrey followed behind her while the rest of the Bellas walked two by two. 

“I’ve never done this except with my parents before." Emily whispered to Chloe as they walked. She was so new to the group but already so excited to be part of the Bellas. “Like we just strip and transform and like hang out?”

“We haven’t done this as a group before but that is the game plan. Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley will be there to make sure we have water, food and some interaction." Chloe replied. The oldest of the wolves appointed herself to be the one to be there for Emily during her first group transformation, remembering how scary and painful it was when you didn’t know what to expect. 

“Right. Totally great.” Emily bit her lip. Everyone here had been so nice to her. She had been moved into Beca’s room to share with her - Legacies were allowed to stay in Bella housing even as freshmen - and her idolization had grown quickly. 

“You don’t have to be nervous." Chloe said before she reached out to take her hand. “We’re all Bellas here.”

“Thanks, Chloe.” The touch made Emily feel more at ease as they reached the clearing. 

Stacie walked them all the way from the open end of the cleaning to a wooden shelter that the campus had installed for them in case of rain near the wood line at the far end. They were taken down each summer so the wood could be replaced and patched if needed. 

“Alright." Stacie turned to look at her pack once they all made it, “Everyone lay out your blankets and transform when you’re ready. Beca and I are going to do one sweep of the clearing before we transform.” Without another word the pair walked off. 

Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley started to unpack the supplies under the protective roof of the shelter. The bag with the tennis balls and ropes was put in front of the shelter so the items could be used, the cooler of meat, ice and jugs of water were placed against one wall, bowls for water were placed about 10 feet from the shelter and filled as to be ready when needed. Aubrey set out Stacie’s blanket near the shelter for her. 

Each wolf found a patch of grass to put their blankets on. Not too close to each other so they wouldn’t be right on top of each other but not too far away that if they did bed down they couldn’t see each other. 

Chloe put the blanket she and Beca would be sharing farthest from the safety of Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley. While she would be more likely to pick a place near the middle, Beca wouldn’t. And tonight she wanted to play the supportive... mate wasn’t the right word but Chloe hoped one day it would be. 

One by one the Bellas stripped and transformed. The three vampires averted their eyes out of respect. Their fangs coming down could be a weird sensation but it was nothing like what werewolves went through. Their bodies were broken and put back together in ways that human and vampire alike would never be able to really understand. The howls that rang out from each of the werewolves sounded painful to the vampire’s ears. Stacie warned them it would happen, the painful howl as they came to find themselves in a new body after their former one had been torn apart. 

As Stacie and Beca returned, Aubrey rose up from her chair and walked to them. She wanted one last check in with them before they would be able to speak. 

“Everything clear?” Aubrey asked. 

“Looks that way." Stacie answered. “There are a few clearings like this one but a good quarter mile between them. We should be fine as long as no uninvited guests come for a visit.”

Beca nodded her agreement but her eyes were looking past Aubrey to where Chloe had transformed into a wolf with copper color fur and golden eyes. Beca didn’t even make an excuse as she walked away from Stacie and Aubrey to join her, stripping once she got to her before her body transformed.

“We’ll watch over you." Aubrey said to Stacie, averting her eyes from Beca and Chloe. “I promise.”

Stacie bent down, a soft growl escaping from her parted lips. “I’m counting on it.” She pulled Aubrey into a hug when what she really wanted to do was kiss her. The moon was making her more forward than even she normally would be, but she also knew kissing Aubrey right now wasn’t a great long term plan. 

Aubrey pressed a kiss to Stacie’s shoulder, allowing herself to say in the moment and not over think why it warmed her to do so. “I don’t break promises, not to the people I care about.” She allowed herself another few seconds in Stacie’s arms before she pulled back. 

“I need to transform." Stacie whispered, her hands clenching and unclenching. 

“I put you nearer to the shelter so if someone comes from the woods side, you’ll be there." Aubrey didn’t say the second reason, the one that felt too soon to say, that she just wanted Stacie close to her. 

“Thanks for putting my blanket out." Stacie said as they walked, dodging the others as they jumped around and got used to their new bodies.

“Of course.” The back of Aubrey’s hand brushed with Stacie’s as they reached the purple queen size blanket. “If you want me, you know where to find me.”

Stacie walked as Aubrey walked away from her. She didn’t put as much of a shake in her hips as she did after getting back to Bella House that afternoon but Stacie swore she was still playing it up. Shaking her head she quickly undressed and closed her eyes, her body twisting and turning as she transformed. As her muzzle turned to the sky she let out a howl that could be heard for miles around. 

Aubrey, Jessica and Ashley watched as the pack of wolves started running around and burning off some energy. Chloe was being run after by Beca, chocolate brown fur with a few lighter streaks throughout, with as close to a smile as any had seen on a wolf’s face. Cynthia-Rose, sporting honey colored fur, and Emily were tugging on one of the ropes, Emily, her fur maple with hints of gold, was holding her own against Cynthia-Rose even if the latter was larger. Lilly, pure black without any brown undertones, was laying on her back and looking up at the stars with her tongue hanging out. Stacie, the largest of the pack with dark chestnut fur, just sat at her blanket and watched over everything, making sure that everything felt right. 

Turning her head to the sky again, Stacie let out a howl, the others joining in one by one. 

“You know, for wolves, they sure do have great harmony." Jessica gave a smile with only the light of the full moon for illumination.


	2. Midnight Dancing Under the Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joe Biden just because President-Elect of the US. So have another chapter. 
> 
> One of my favorite Stacie and Aubrey moments takes place in here so I hope y'all like it just as much. 
> 
> Again, thank you G for the assist here.

There were benefits to be able to see in total darkness. Going for runs at night under a less than full moon with fairly heavy cloud cover was one of them. At least for Aubrey. 

She didn’t need sleep if she didn’t want it. It did help any parts of her that needed to heal to heal and it did make her a more agreeable person to be around but she didn’t need it, not like humans or werewolves. Which is why her night time runs - she could defend herself just fine if someone wanted to try something - happened a few times a week. 

What didn’t usually happen was someone sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her when she returned from them. 

“Going out by yourself in the middle of the night isn’t the safest option, Aubrey." Stacie said, pushing a warm mug of tea over to the empty spot next to her. 

“I am more than capable of protecting myself." Aubrey said. To prove her point she let her fangs drop and showed them off before returning to a normal smile. “I’d be happy to give you a demonstration sometime if you need it.”

“Not this close to the ending of the full moon. My body is too tired to make it any fun for either of us." Stacie admitted. 

“Oh, is the Hunter tired?” Aubrey snorted, holding on to the mug of hot tea. The teasing between them had only grown since they returned to campus.

“After the full moon our body’s are coming down off a chemical high. It’s like having a low level hangover for a few days.” Stacie drank out of her mug. 

Aubrey slipped into the chair across from Stacie. “How long before you feel yourself again?” She was starting to see just how much Chloe tried to protect her from seeing the toll all of this took on her when they were dorm-mates. 

“Couple days. A few big meals, extra sleep, time with the pack all will help. Time with you helps more." Stacie explained, unable not to flirt with her a little when her guard was down like this.

Aubrey looked into the mug instead of looking at Stacie. “I like you. I like it when you hug me and when your hand brushes mine every time I hand you something. I like it when you sit next to me and you give me that wolfish grin when I manage to say something clever. I know my kind moves slowly compared to yours and I can’t change my nature but I like you.”

Hearing the words from Aubrey made Stacie’s heart race, which Stacie knew Aubrey would be able to feel or sense or however the hell Vampires could tell that about them. “It’s nice to know this isn’t one sided.”

“It’s not." Aubrey whispered. “Give me a few weeks to get the Bellas put together and figure out my year in terms of classes.”

Stacie turned her hand palm side up and rested it between them on the table. She didn’t reach out and touch Aubrey without her permission, not when the emotions of the moment threatened to overtake her. “I can handle a couple of weeks, Bree. If it means you keep letting me hug you when you need it, alright?”

Aubrey’s hand rested over Stacie’s. “Hiding this from the Bellas would be impossible and I don’t want them to distrust us if we tried. That puts a pressure on all of this that I am not sure I enjoy.”

“May I be blunt for a moment." Stacie asked. 

“Better than anyone I know." Aubrey replied. 

“They know. Not maybe that we’ll try to really date in a few weeks. But they know you and I have a thing between us. They can smell me on your clothes after we hug. They can smell you on mine. We scan rooms to see who is touching who to figure out pair bonds and friendships and who hates who. They know we’re somewhere north of friends." Stacie said, hoping the information didn’t scare Aubrey off. 

The information didn’t completely catch Aubrey off guard but having it laid out like that put things into perspective. “Then I will try not to worry about it.”

“We like you, Aubrey. You tried to shield us from Alice’s hate as much as you could last year. You took her triads to keep her from turning her attention on us. Even until the point it got to you and Chloe had to take her ire because you couldn’t anymore." Stacie said as Aubrey’s hand slipped into hers at the memory. 

“I was a senior member of the team, it was my job to protect you." Aubrey whispered. She felt a swell of emotion in her chest and up the back of her neck as she thought about the things Alice would say, cutting as deeply as she could to take Aubrey’s confidence away as much as she could. 

“Oh baby." Stacie couldn’t help as the term of endearment slipped from her lips. “Come here, ok? Forget everything for a moment and just give me a few minutes to take care of you. Then we’ll wait your couple of weeks.”

It surprised Aubrey how easy it was to slip out of her chair and on to Stacie’s lap. How comforting a warm pair of arms were around her waist was and how well she fit against the taller woman. Her head rested on Stacie’s shoulder and her arms around her torso. 

“You’re always so warm." Aubrey breathed in just to get Stacie’s scent. 

“One of the perks you get when you let me date you." Stacie rested their heads together. “Other’s include nerdy jokes that you might not get and then semi awkward explanations, my tits, and my general lack of boundaries.”

“There are a lot of perks of being around you that I can’t imagine wouldn’t carry over to seeing you romantically." Aubrey whispered. She allowed herself the pleasure of letting her fingers play with the hair on the back of Stacie’s neck. Sitting with her like this, being held like this, feeling protected without caged in, it was all new to her. She didn’t date much and when she did she mostly dated other vampires. 

“You’re a catch too, you know that?” Stacie asked, she wasn’t sure that Aubrey did. 

“I’m emotionally closed off, taking me to dinner or most normal dates would be a waste of money, and I have a stick up my ass half the time." Aubrey snorted. 

“Hey, I’m not going to kink shame you for the stick. Maybe just help you take it out now and then." Stacie said with a low chuckle. 

“How do you do that?” Aubrey asked, her hand moving from the back of Stacie’s neck to right over her heart so she could feel it beating more strongly. She didn’t ask and she was half way to copping a feel but the steady beating of Stacie’s heart felt comforting under her palm. “How do you disarm any comments I make and make me feel better in the process?”

Stacie trailed her finger up and down Aubrey’s forearm as it rested against her heart. “I pay attention to you. You make comments to downplay how impressive you are because you’re worried if people see that, it will put a bigger target on your back. Maybe it will. But I don’t like the idea of you making yourself less so other people think they’re more.”

Aubrey closed her eyes, her head turning so she could press a kiss against Stacie’s temple. “I very much want to kiss you after that. I won’t. But I want you to know that I want to.”

“And I very much want to run my tongue over your fangs and feel you growl into my mouth, but I won’t do that either.” Stacie whispered, her hand sliding to rest on Aubrey’s hip to keep her close. 

“Fuck." Aubrey groaned at the very thought. 

“I’ll be lucky if you let me do that before Christmas." Stacie teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit. For her sake as much as for Aubrey’s. 

“Maybe it will be your Christmas gift, orgasms and cookies." Aubrey managed to tease back. 

“You did read my letter to Santa." Stacie said with a grin.

Aubrey flexed her fingers over Stacie’s chest as her mind went back to the idea of Stacie’s tongue against her fangs. “Don’t do that tongue thing unless we’re in private. It’s not something that lends itself to a calm reaction.”

“I won’t do it at all if you don’t want me to." Stacie promised. 

“Oh I want you to. It’s the vampire version of oral sex." Aubrey explained.

Stacie shook her head to try and clear it. “It’s really vampire oral sex?”

“They are incredibly sensitive." Aubrey nodded. 

“No wonder the…” Stacie decided to cut that line of comment off. Aubrey didn’t need to hear about her dating history at the moment. “So like when Jess and Ashley make out during movie night...” She trailed off. 

“You have your abilities to sense your own kind’s behavior and I have mine. I’d be able to tell." Aubrey assured her. 

Stacie accepted the answer, her eyes looking at Aubrey’s mouth. “Can I see them again?” She felt her voice drop to a whisper. 

“Stacie." Aubrey put her forehead against the younger woman’s. “If I drop them down I am going to want to kiss you. When they drop, some of my self control does too. And if we kiss and they’re down you’re going to want to run your tongue over them. And we’re twenty feet from my bedroom. I want all of that but I’m a way away from coming back from a run and taking you into my bed.”

“I’m fascinated by all the differences between us. I want to know you, every little bit of you. I want to look at your fangs and ask all the things I don’t know and then have you do the same. I want so many wonderful things with you.” Stacie whispered. 

Aubrey’s hand pressed against Stacie’s cheek. “One kiss, fangs up, and then we both need to go to bed. Separately.” 

“I wasn’t asking for a kiss, Bree." Stacie whispered, she didn’t want Aubrey to think she was pressuring her any more than she already had by asking in the first place. 

“I am." Aubrey admitted. 

Stacie didn’t need to be told twice once Aubrey admitted she wanted the kiss. She pulled back just enough to tilt her head to the correct angle, Aubrey’s hand still on her cheek. Her lips brushed against Aubrey’s once and then back again. Firmer this time. She felt her partner lean in to the kiss before they both pulled back at the same time. The sparks still were going through her and it was the most chaste kiss she had since she was in braces. 

“Next time you run, ask me or text me first to go with you, ok? I promise I won’t if I’m too tired but I don’t like you out alone, ok?” Stacie whispered, their eyes locked. 

“I promise." Aubrey whispered before slipping off of her lap and out of the kitchen. 

* * *

Chloe looked up from her phone when Beca came back into her room in a towel. They had a rule that there was no changing in the bathroom after your shower if others needed it too, since everyone but Aubrey shared a single shower. 

“Hey...” Beca leaned down for a quick kiss before she started rummaging for something to wear to the night party. They did that now, kiss each other when they were together or one of them came into a room. Even though their date wasn’t for two days yet. Beca had never been on board with something more in her life. 

“Hey!” She said with her trademark grin, “Jesse’s going to be at the party tonight and I thought we should talk about that." Chloe leaned back on Beca’s bed. 

Beca made a face at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. “What is there to talk about?”

“Do you want me to take a half step back in terms of PDA? I mean other wolves will still smell me but he’s human." Chloe explained.

“No." Beca turned her back to Chloe - who averted her eyes - and dropped her towel to start changing. They had to get naked to transform and they shared a bathroom so seeing each other anywhere from fully dressed to fully nude just sort of happened. “You’re my … you’re my Chloe, ok?”

“I’m your Chloe?” No one needed to see her face to know there was a big grin on it. 

“I shouldn’t call you my girlfriend until our first date is over. So tonight you’re my Chloe. We drink and dance together and if we kiss, we kiss. If he sees, he sees. After what he did I hope he does." Beca said darkly. 

“What did he do?” Chloe sat up, looking concerned. 

Beca breathed out, turning around in her skinny jeans and a black bra, shirt in hand. “He bought me a collar. He said he thought we’d have to wear them with rabies tags when we transformed. I dumped him before dessert came.”

“Oh God..." Chloe looked horrified. “That’s a very human thing to think and I’m sorry he was so tragically human about dating you. You even sang to him during the ICCA final and he didn’t know a thing about our kind.”

Beca tossed her shirt on her bed before tugging Chloe up and cuddling against her chest as they stood together. “Dating him for a few months gave me the guts to be able to ask you out once I saw you again. I knew what I didn’t want and once I knew that it made it clear what I wanted.” She leaned against her more firmly to press her lips against Chloe’s neck. 

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s waist, feeling so much of her smooth skin under her hands that it made her a little giddy. “So far this is the best relationship I’ve had and we haven’t made it to the first date yet.” She admitted. 

Beca slipped her hands under Chloe’s sweater and rubbed over her lower back. “We did kind of go on dates in Portland." She mused. 

The time Beca spent in Chloe’s city really was the highlight for her. Even if she got to see first hand how a family of Alphas treated their Beta child and sibling. She tried to stay out of it and just take Chloe out of there to get her mind off of it. 

“We totally did." Chloe bit her lip as she looked into Beca’s eyes. 

“Monday night, it’s going to be a good time if we’re dating already or not. And maybe that is our first official, no doubt about it date, but maybe the full moon was the night we count as when we became a couple?” Beca mused. 

They had shared a blanket as the first line of defense if someone attacked from the field side, as unlikely as it was. They ran together all over the field, both enjoying the feeling of the grass under their paws. Beca even nudged the bag until Aubrey filled the stupid Kong with stupid cheese and brought it to Chloe because she knew she secretly liked them. She pretended the next day it was for her even if she knew Aubrey wouldn’t judge Chloe. 

Chloe’s face nearly split in two with how wide she was grinning. “So girlfriends?”

“Girlfriends." Beca agreed as she leaned up for a kiss. “And if Jesse asks? Girlfriends. No hedging to save his feelings. I don’t hate him, but I’m not hiding what I want or who I am for anyone.” 

“You being all Alpha about this? Very attractive." Chloe said before kissing her jaw. 

Beca finally untangled herself from Chloe to put her flannel shirt on. “You and I push and pull each other. It’s what I like about us. Yeah, with wolf stuff that’s pack related I tend to take command with Stace. But with us? Baby you are a total top.”

“Does that make you the bottom?” Chloe teased. 

“Sadly yes, but as long as I’m bottoming for you? I think I will somehow make it through the experience.” Beca finished tucking her shirt in before holding her hand out to Chloe. “Come on, we have to get to the practice space to bring in the two newbies.”

* * *

The rest of the Bellas were told to be there for 8:00 P.M. but Aubrey and Chloe needed to be there sooner. Beca and Stacie decided to help, since Emily was a werewolf and it meant more time with Aubrey and Chloe. 

Beca and Chloe let their hands swing between them as they walked together to the practice space. It was about a fifteen minute walk on a warm evening with the scent of leaves in the air. A perfect evening for a party to welcome everyone into their crazy world. 

“How is this not a fire hazard?” Beca asked when she saw all of the boxes of candles and candle holders Aubrey and Stacie had already brought in. 

“Oh it is." Stacie said as she worked to put a 7 candle holder together. “But Aubrey said it’s “tradition” even if I knew for a fact she is not a fan of fire.” 

“No vampire is." Chloe started to work on sorting candles by size. “Cutting their heart out and burning it is one of two ways to kill them for good. It’s like if this place was full of silver knives for us.”

“Why do it then?” Beca asked. 

“Tradition." Aubrey said dryly as she carried in a table in one hand and the ceremonially chalice in the other. “Just because the three vampires have an aversion to fire doesn’t mean that we should deprive Emily and Flo the experience of becoming a Bella the way we all were brought in.”

The three others didn’t look like they agreed but thought better of fighting with Aubrey about something they all knew was going to happen. So instead of putting the energy towards fighting they all started preparing the room. 

The room was soon filled with candle holders assembled and all over the room, each of them now just needing the candles. The four of them did make an efficient team after all.

“This lighter is out of gas. I’ll be right back." Aubrey grabbed the leather jacket Stacie had let her use and then keep when they went on her motorcycle, slipping it on before walking to Bella House to get another lighter. 

“Wait.” Beca looked at Chloe and then Stacie. “Vampires don’t get cold. I mean they’re the undead. Why is Aubrey putting a jacket on to walk back when it’s also like 65 out?”

“Stacie, you want to field this one?” Chloe asked with a wink towards her. 

Stacie did not, no, but she also knew that was Chloe’s way of telling her to. “Jacket’s mine, I gave it to her and she likes wearing it. She gets a little cold sometimes because her dad is human and it’s just a thing she can feel. But I like to think she wears it because she likes that she’s wearing my jacket.”

“She does." Chloe smiled at her. 

“So are you and Aubrey…” Beca trailed off. 

“Not yet." Stacie replied. “She needed some time to get everything sort of up and running. I’m going to ask her out before the next full moon.”

Chloe put down the box of candles she was working with to go over to Stacie. “She will totally say yes. I promise you. She just takes time to warm up to people. Your coffee dates last year helped a lot.”

“Thanks Chlo.” Stacie smiled at the older woman. 

“Wait." Beca said, a happy look crossing her lips. “If you date Aubrey and go to her room some nights then I can go to Chloe’s room and sleep in her bed. Win for us and you. Score.”

“I don’t care if you sleep in Chloe’s bed when I’m in the room, Beca.” Stacie snorted. 

“Seriously?” Beca asked, ideas already filling her head. They couldn’t go to her room because Emily was just a pup, she didn’t need to see all of that. 

“Don’t like, spend all night humping each other, because you know I can tell if you do, but if you just want to sleep next to her, I don’t care.” Stacie promised. 

“I will keep that in mind for future." Beca stepped over to Chloe and kissed her cheek.

“Why aren’t the candles up yet?” Aubrey stepped back into the room with a fresh lighter. 

“Sorry!” All three split apart and started to quickly get everything set up. 

* * *

The room was lit only in candles as Aubrey and Chloe stood behind the table with the chalice on it. Flo, a freshman from Miami, and Emily were standing on the other side of the table with the rest of the Bella’s behind them. Jessica and Ashley were as far from the fire of the candles as they could be, right next to the exit. 

“Repeat after me." Aubrey looked at the two freshman. “I, sing your name."

“Flo.”

“Emily.” 

“Promise to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman. And I solemnly promise never to…” Aubrey looked over at Chloe who put her hand on her arm. 

“Promise to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman. And I solemnly promise never to…” Both of them repeated, waiting to see what came next. 

“Give any of our secrets away to a Treblemaker, or may my vocal cords be ripped out by bears.” Aubrey changed it enough that she got a smile from Chloe but she was able to keep the spirit of it. 

“Give any of our secrets away to a Treblemaker, or may my vocal cords be ripped out by bears.” Both finished proudly. 

Chloe made them drink the cheap wine before everyone started cheering. Emily and Flo were officially Bellas now. The others came in and formed a group hug around them, earning laughs from Emily and a slightly panicked look from Flo.

After the candles were put out they all left for the night, this could be cleaned up later and everyone wanted to party. 

Jessica slipped her hand in Ashley’s as they walked to the party with the rest of the Bellas. 

“I am so glad this didn’t happen to fall on our anniversary." Ashley smiled over at her girlfriend. “I love the Bellas but we’d have to totally ditch them if it did.”

“Oh yeah?” Jessica asked coyly. “Why is that?”

Ashley rolled her eyes just a little bit she loved when her girlfriend would flirt with her. “Because I already have that day planned out.”

“Any hints?” Jessica asked. 

Ashley debated if she should tell her or not. “Vampire dinner. Then we’re going to a hotel so our friends don’t hear what I plan to do to you.” Some local hotels had humans willing to be living blood donors for vampires who wanted to feed from live humans and not blood bags. 

Jessica stopped walking and tugged Ashley into a nearly bone crushing hug. It was the grandest gesture she had gotten from anyone before. “Seriously?” 

“I worked all summer so I have some money saved up. I wanted to do something kinda big for our one year,:” Ashley brushed some hair out of Jessica’s eyes. “You deserve grand gestures of love.”

Jessica leaned into her girlfriend, seeing such tenderness in her eyes. “One hour at the party and then we head back before anyone notices. And I can thank you for being such an aca-awesome girlfriend. Not like we’ll get drunk without sucking some blood. Which Aubrey would kill us for.”

Ashley often wondered what she did in her life to deserve Jessica. Her sweet vampire girlfriend who could see the world ablaze and snuggle to her saying she was cold anyway. Ashley knew that her pessimism sometimes got in her way but Jessica helped her cut through some of that. “You are amazing.” 

Jessica leaned in to her for a kiss, letting her girlfriend take control once their lips pressed together. Ashley deepened the kiss before hearing a few of their friends cheering them on. 

“One hour." Jessica beamed when she pulled back, retaking Ashley’s hand. 

Emily, not sure paying attention, almost walked into the back of Ashley. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright Emily." Jessica smiled at her. “Excited for your first big college party?”

“Yeah!” Emily grinned. “I mean I don’t really want to drink much so I remember it. But I get to be at a college party with my Bellas.”

Ashley and Jessica shared a look, both smiling at how excited she was. Both of them felt the same the year before. It was all so new. 

“If you ever think you drank too much, find Aubrey, me or Jess." Ashley instructed. “We can drink all the human alcohol we want but it won’t do anything.”

“Really?” Emily’s eyes went wide. 

“We can get drunk but it involves biting a human who has been drinking or blood wine." Jessica explained. “And we don’t do that in an environment like this.”

Emily looked over at them as they walked. “When you and Aubrey go downstairs at night, that’s to eat dinner, right?”

“Yup. We have blood down there we can eat. Takes about 5 minutes though and way less pots and pans to wash." Ashley smiled at her. 

“If you guys like ever need anything, I mean I know I’m just a freshman and can’t really do anything, but still, let me know, ok?” Emily asked when they reached the edge of the party. 

“That’s very sweet." Jessica said with a bright smile. “Same goes for you, ok?”

“Thanks! My mom always said her best memories of college always included the Bellas.” Emily said, looking around the party. “Who is he?” She pointed to a guy over talking to Beca. 

“Benji, he’s a Treblemaker this year. A nice guy, maybe the nicest in the Trebelmakers." Ashley supplied. 

Emily moved away from the pair and headed over to get a drink. A drink that just happened to be right next to Beca and Benji. 

“Hey Em, not too much ok?” Beca looked over at her, a cup in her own hand. 

Emily wanted to thank her for talking to her so she could step over in front of Benji. “I promise. Just a couple. I want to remember everything about this party.”

Benji did a double take when she saw how beautiful the woman in front of him was. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. 

“Benji, she’s one of mine. So be chill dude but behave." Beca slapped him on the back before leaving the pair.

“I’m Emily. Emily Junk.” She said, a bright smile on her face. 

“Benji Applebaum at your service.” He couldn’t get the dopey smile off his face if he wanted to. “Can I just say I really wanna put you in a box and cut you in half.” 

“Oh!” Emily beamed. “Are you a magician?”

Benji pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket. “Pick a card and then put it back in the deck?”

Emily reached her hand out to pull a card out of the deck. She looked at it before slipping it back in. “Now what?” She asked.

With a slight of hard Benji pulled a card out of the deck. “Queen of hearts?”

“Yeah." Emily gave him a shy smile. “That’s me.”

* * *

When you lived in the same house with your girlfriend, Beca found, it made doing some things more difficult. Like picking her up for a date. There wasn’t so much the first date experience of walking to her front door and knocking. Instead once Beca was ready she headed down to the living room to wait. 

“Wow.” Stacie said from the couch, Aubrey sitting close to her while Emily was on the other, reading for her Communications 101 class. 

“Think I look good?” Beca asked. She went with dress pants and a white button up with a matching suit jacket. Figured it was classy enough with where they were going but she would be comfortable. She did her make up, paying a little more attention than most times she put it on and used a bolder red on her lips. Her hair was down in soft waves. 

“Chloe is going to pull you in the backseat before you’ve even started the car." Stacie said with a smirk.

“Remind me why that would be a bad thing?” Beca challenged. 

“Because my best friend deserves to be wooed, and you are the one she wants wooing her?” Aubrey gave Beca a look to try and intimidate her, hiding her own smirk. 

“Right." Beca swallowed. “There will be wooing. Dinner, music, the whole thing. But she’s already my girlfriend so I shouldn’t have heart palpitations, right?”

Aubrey looked at her for a moment. “Your heart rate is a little up but you’re fine.” She could feel Beca’s heartbeat if she concentrated. She much rather feel Stacie’s. 

“You can just tell that?” Emily looked up. 

“I can." Aubrey nodded. “Yours is about 65 right now.” She said a moment later. “It’s a combination of hearing and some augmented sight.” She explained.

“That’s really cool.” Emily grinned at her captain. 

“Thank you." Aubrey wasn’t used to her abilities being spoken of so highly. She smiled over at Stacie when she felt her hand resting just above her knee. She was still working on getting her life for the year set up but she was accepting more and more from the touch needy wolf. 

Beca turned when she heard someone on the stairs. Her eyes widened as she watched Chloe walk down, dress in a little black dress that was sleeveless, her hair pinned to one side and her makeup more dramatic than Beca has seen it before. 

“Chlo." Beca whispered. “You look amazing.” She held her hand to help Chloe off the last step. She realized then her wearing her favorite boots and Chloe wearing heels put her about four inches shorter than Chloe. But when Chloe smiled she could not have cared less.

“You look great." Chloe reached for her hand, grinning from ear to ear. “Ready to go?” 

“I am.” Beca walked with Chloe to the door. “Don’t wait up!” She called when the door shut. 

Chloe giggled a little as they walked to Beca’s car, hand in hand. “You had to wind them up, didn’t you?”

“What fun would it be if I didn’t?” Beca opened the passenger side door for Chloe so she could get in. 

Chloe laughed deeply when she looked at her phone while Beca was getting in. “Stace offered to take your bed today if we wanted to be alone after the date.” She held up the text message for Beca to read. 

“What are you going to tell her?” Beca tried to act casual as she started the car. 

“That the offer was sweet and we’re taking a rain check on it. But tonight... tonight I don’t think we’re going to need a private room." Chloe bit her lip as she looked over at Beca. 

“It’s our first real date, Chloe. Girlfriends or not I’m not the kind of Alpha that is going to like pin you down because I bought you dinner. Besides, didn’t we agree you were more likely to top me anyway?” Beca joked to try and put Chloe at ease. 

“Oh, that is going to happen, without question.” Chloe smirked. “And thank you for always being considerate."

“I don’t expect things in a relationship just because I’m an Alpha. Besides, I’ve never, ya know, anyway by the way.” Beca felt her face go red as she admitted her status as a virgin. 

“When you and I are ready, we’ll take care of each other and the whole house is going to give us crap for it for like a month." Chloe said, already knowing there was no way the others wouldn’t know. Smell and sound alike. 

Beca laughed softly even as her ears turned red. “Can’t even go to like a hotel or something. We’ll smell like sex if they want to tell even after like a dozen showers. Might as well do it in your bed and save the money.”

Chloe laughed as she played with Beca’s fingers as she drove. “So, can I ask, what have you done?”

At least while she was driving, Beca could look straight ahead and she didn’t have to be so nervous. “Couple of boyfriends in high school. More than a few but less than a ton of make out sessions.” She admitted. “One really liked to make it feel like he was giving me a mammogram when we did. Jesse and I mostly just kissed and fought about movies.”

“Mine is longer than that. More variety in what I did too.” Chloe admitted. She wasn’t shy about her past, she had been a willing participant. 

“I expected that after you burst into the shower to sing with me and left a naked dude in the shower you had just been in." Beca snorted. 

“Tom. Bad conversationalist but pretty good sex." Chloe laughed. 

“I hope to give you both good conversations and great sex. Once I figure out how to…” She waved her hand vaguely. 

“Great sex and good conversations does sound a lot better than just about any of the people I’ve dated." Chloe brought Beca’s hand to her lips to kiss the back of it. 

Beca parked the car, having pulled into a nice Italian place she found last year. “You and me, we’ll figure sex out together. At least one of us knows what we’re doing and it’s not the blind leading the blind.”

“I’m fully sighted...” Chloe leaned in, giving Beca a soft kiss. “Are you sure you’re an Alpha? I’ve never met one who was so easy going when it came to their partner having a past or having more experience.”

“I’m the Alpha who is dating Chloe Beale. She’s kind of the best person in the world. Sex will come with how much we already touch each other and make out already. So if chilling out and waiting a few weeks or months to have it while we fall for each other is what it takes? That is such a win for me."

“You might top Stacie as my favorite Alpha." Chloe teased.

“Well at least I’m topping someone." Beca grinned before getting out of the car. 

Soon they were sitting across from each other at a candlelit table, their eyes on each other more than the menu.

“If I get wine, are you going to try and sneak some and get us kicked out?” Chloe asked, knowing one of them being over 21 and one of them not might be an issue at dinner. 

“I don’t really like wine so that one is all you." Beca promised her, taking her hand as she finally looked down at the menu. “I can’t decide between the chicken parm and the shrimp risotto.” She pouted. 

“You get one, I get the other and we share, easy.” Chloe suggested. 

“Oh yeah, we can totally do that. This whole dating thing has just opened up such a wider world to food sharing." Beca said, giving Chloe a big grin just to try and get a laugh. She is over the moon when it works. 

And that was how dinner went, the conversation in the car relaxing both of them as they laughed and joked all through dinner. Both Chloe’s past with Alphas who expected too much and Beca’s relative inexperience coming out allowed the other to be there instead of any overthinking going on. 

“Thank you for dinner, Chloe said as they headed to the car. 

“It was my pleasure. Thanks for sharing with me. That was really nice to kind of do all those silly movie things.” Beca opened Chloe’s door, but the redhead didn’t get in. 

“They all kind of make sense now, don’t they?” Chloe challenged with a smile. 

“They really do." Beca laughed, sneaking a kiss from Chloe before going around the car to get in on her side. 

Chloe’s hand found Beca’s thigh while she drove, resting it there without looking over at her. She liked touch and so far Beca had been pretty into all the touch she had been doing. “I was thinking this weekend if you want, we could go play in our field. Transform, run around a little, bring something to wear after, and lunch, and enjoy the weather while it’s still super nice.”

“Planning the second date before the first one is over?” Beca loved the idea though.

“I planned it before the first one started, but yeah. I kind of figured since we had the girlfriend tag we were good on that front." Chloe winked over at Beca when she looked over at a red light. 

“No asking, just planning cute dates where I have the possibility of seeing you naked." Beca winked back, but her red cheeks gave her away. 

“If you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." Chloe assured her. 

“I always want you naked but Aubrey would frown on that in the house." Beca pouted a little bit. 

“I could get Aubrey on the naked bus if Stacie joined." Chloe wagered. 

Beca burst out laughing as she parked the car, almost hitting another car because her attention was split. “Aubrey would be speechless. And it would be awesome.”

“Might want to keep naked Stacie in our back packets if Aubrey pulls an Alice." Chloe said, only half joking. 

“Oh 100%." Beca leaned over to kiss Chloe before slipping out of the car. “So this is the place I was telling you about. And I want to warn you now that I am going to basically be transfixed by an old guy in his 80’s while he plays. I promise I don’t think he’s prettier than you. But his guitar playing is better than yours.”

“That’s fair." Chloe slipped her hand into Beca’s as they headed inside. “Seeing you turn into a music nerd is one of my joys in life.”

They were seated near one side but they still had a great view of the stage. Beca was already looking like a kid about to see Santa with the way she could barely hide her excitement. 

Chloe couldn’t help but be totally smitten. And that feeling didn’t stop as she watched Beca tap out beats of the music during the set. It didn’t stop when she pulled a pen out and started scribbling notes on the napkin. It didn’t stop when she reached over to pull Chloe to a small dance floor. 

“I never thought I’d get you to willingly dance with me." Chloe admitted as they swayed together to the music. 

“The owner of the bar and his husband dance sometimes. I figure if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me." Beca looked up into Chloe’s bright blue eyes. 

“You are something else, Beca Mitchell.” Chloe bent her head to brush her lips against Beca’s. 

Beca rested her head against Chloe’s chest as the kiss broke and they moved slowly together around the dance floor. Beca couldn’t tell who was leading. Maybe they both were. 

When they returned to Bella house, all the lights were off except the ones for Aubrey’s room. 

“This was the best first date I think I’ve ever been on, Bec." Chloe said as they walked up to the house hand in hand. 

“I know it’s the best first date I’ve ever been on." Beca stopped them when they got to the front door. 

“Going to give me a good night kiss out here?” Chloe asked. 

“We have to go take our makeup off and change. Maybe we do a goodnight kiss then? When the war paint and the bobby pins are gone from us both?” Beca suggested. 

“Meet me at my door in ten. I’m going to use Bree’s bathroom.” Chloe ducked into the house, leaving Beca standing there. 

One trip to the bathroom and a second trip to her bedroom found Beca in her favorite blue t-shirt and sleep pants. She felt different than she did in her suit, softer now and more like herself. 

“Hey." Chloe came up the stairs in an old green Barden shirt and a matching green pair of sleep shorts. 

“Hey." Beca reached out to tug Chloe close to her. 

Beca’s arms slipped around Chloe’s torso as hers moved to Beca’s waist. It had become so natural that it happened without either thinking about it. The comfort it brought to both of them, the comfort of things just working, was infinite. 

“I owe you a goodnight kiss." Beca locked eyes with Chloe. 

“You really do." Chloe whispered, tilting her head but letting Beca be the one who closed the space between them. 

And close it Beca did. She pressed her lips against Chloe’s, her tongue darting out to swipe against the redhead’s lip to ask permission to deepen the kiss. Beca did plan to keep it fairly tame but she couldn’t help herself when she could feel Chloe pressed against her like this. The redhead didn’t hesitate to part her lips as the kiss deepened. 

“Whoa." Beca breathed heavily when she finally broke it. “We need to kiss goodnight more.”

“Yeah." Chloe tried to catch her breath. “Aca-totally.”

“Did you just aca me after our kiss?” Beca pretended to be horrified. 

“Yup. Just get ready for what I say after we have sex the first time." Chloe kissed her cheek before slipping into her room, the door shutting with a light click, before Beca could reply. 

“I am so screwed." Beca grinned at her doom before heading to bed. 


	3. Family Ties and Pack Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be my favorite chapter to date. I really adore all of it and I hope you do too. 
> 
> Thank you to G for being the Robin to my Batman.

The weather was changing as August gave way to September and September slowly matched toward October. The leaves were starting to show their true colors, the air smelled different and had a bit of a bite each morning. The residents of the Bella House were starting to have less free time and more homework but they still managed family meals three or four times a week. It was easy when they lived together after all.

One night in late September, after the wolves had eaten their fill and the dishes were put away, after the vampires had gone down to the basement to do the same, Jessica and Ashley snuck from their window out to a flat part of the roof, Jessica carrying a blanket to lay down and Ashley two pillows. 

“This all feels so much nicer than last year, even if I do sort of miss our dorm room.” Ashley put both pillows down, Jessica always used her as a pillow on their star gazing nights. 

“Having a queen sized bed is nice though. Trying to fit on one twin or another was rough...” Jessica said as her head came to rest on Ashley’s shoulder. 

Ashley hummed her agreement as she laid with her girlfriend. “We found a good group of people to grow with." She was always amazed that a group of werewolves took in three vampires the way they had this year. 

“I’m going to miss Aubrey and Chloe next year though.” Jessica’s arm wrapped around Ashley’s middle as she cuddled closer. She wasn’t cold, unlike Aubrey she had never felt cold before really, but the option of being closer to her girlfriend was always a win in her book. 

“If things with Stacie and Beca advance the way it looks like it might, we’ll see both of them pretty often, don’t you think?” Ashley asked.

“True.” Jessica turned her head up, kissing her girlfriend. “You always put me at ease, honey.”

Ashley brought her hand up to Jessica’s cheek, stroking her girlfriend’s cheek with the tips of her fingers. “You make me want to try to see the good side of life. Walk a bit in the sunshine even if it leaves me feeling weak and human.”

“Your hair is always so pretty in the sunlight.” Jessica whispered, kissing her again before pulling back. “You need a little sunshine in your life and I need someone to grab me and hold me tight so I don’t fly away. We work because we’re different. We’re a team.”

If she had a heart that could beat faster, Ashley was sure hers would be beating out of her chest as she looked into Jessica’s eyes. “I held your hand last year at hood night and asked you on a date and my life hasn’t been the same since. In so many good ways, and right ways, and Jessica ways.”

“You changed me too. Made me think harder, made me look a little more before I leapt. I got hurt before by falling out of the sky because I didn’t look which way I was going.” Jessica rested her forehead against Ashley’s. 

“Do you ever think of giving each other the mark?” Ashley’s voice was as soft as she could make it while sound could still come out. 

“Yes.” Jessica looked up into her eyes. “I do.”

Vampires were able to mark their mates, human, werewolf or other vampires with a bite to the left wrist and a slash to their own, the two wrists pressed together. It was forever binding unlike the marks werewolves left on each other that could be made null. 

“It’s fast. For our kind dating a year is like a brief moment." Ashley whispered, her eyes locked on Jessica’s. 

“You and I operate on our own timetable. I don’t care if it’s fast or if it’s slow or if our parents are upset. I care about the notion of forever with you. Connected, bound, together.” Jessica shifted to sit up, a hand on either side of Jessica’s head. “When we’re ready? We are ready. Only we know that.”

Ashley reached a hand up to the back of Jessica’s neck to pull her down into a kiss. A smile curving on her lips when she felt Jessica’s fangs slide down. 

* * *

Stacie sat at the kitchen table with books around her. Some chemistry, some biology, some physics. Why she decided to take on those three demanding classes, plus ethics on top of her part time job and the Bellas, she couldn’t tell you at this moment. 

Her fingers slid over the page of her textbook as she tried to commit the words to memory before looking over her laptop and the questions she needed to submit answers for. She had just one left when the backdoor opened and Aubrey walked inside. 

“What are you doing up at 2 a.m. on a school night?” Aubrey questioned as she put on a kettle of water to make herself some tea to warm her after her run. 

“Homework.” Stacie didn’t look up from her computer as her fingers poked at the keys to get her answer out. She read over it twice to make sure that any of the words made sense before she submitted the homework and shut her laptop. “It was get it done tonight or try and get you to let me skip practice tomorrow to get it done before it was due.”

“You’re over extending yourself.” Aubrey put two tea bags in two mugs. If Stacie was going to be around, and she had yet to go to bed right after she came in from a run, she might as well make her some tea.

“I just need to budget my time better. Or just not offer to cook dinner on nights I know I have more homework than time.” Stacie leaned back in her chair, watching as Aubrey poured the near boiling water over the tea bags. “I’ll kill to be able to not have to sleep like you sometimes.”

“There are some drawbacks that come with not needing sleep, the blood lust being the first.” Aubrey set a mug of tea in front of Stacie before sitting across from her with her own mug.

Stacie tilted her head as the words cut through the slight fog her brain was in being up so late. “What does the beast inside feel like for you?”

Aubrey chuckled. “I don’t have a beast in my chest, not like you do. There isn’t another voice in my head telling me to do things. It’s all me. Me screaming for blood when I’m hungry. Me knowing I could get just about anyone I wanted to turn their head and offer me their neck with a little bit of charm that comes with the fangs and the burns from too much sun.”

“You wouldn’t need that, the charm or the power or whatever it is, with me. If you asked right now, I’d let you have every drop.” It was a hell of a thing to admit to someone who she had only kissed once but it was honest. 

“I wouldn’t be able to take you out of this world, I like my life too much with you in it." Aubrey reached over a book to wrap her fingers around Stacie’s wrist. “What is it like to have a beast in your chest?”

Stacie’s eyes closed at both the contact and the implication of what Aubrey both said to her and asked her to tell. “It’s a voice that’s not mine in the back of my head. A howl that I can feel in my bones calling me and telling me to let her out to play. It’s seeing raw meat and knowing in this body it would hurt me but if I just turned I could eat my fill of it. It’s the feeling of knowing I have so much power inside of me and knowing that if I wanted to I could let it out and run wild.” Her jaw clenched a bit. “But it’s knowing I control the wolf, the wolf can never control me. It’s spending years learning how to live in harmony.” 

Aubrey felt a tug as Stacie turned her wrist over and gripped hers. She walked around the table to feel herself being pulled into Stacie’s lap. When she was settled there, arms around each other and Stacie’s face pressed to her neck, she felt a peace was over her like it did every time they tangled up in each other. 

Stacie rested her head against Aubrey’s shoulder, feeling the way that Aubrey already knew to play with the hair on the back of her neck to soothe her from the draining day and the beastly admission. It was like a slow dance with a partner who knew just what to do when you made your own move. 

“I’m falling for you." Stacie said with a voice full to bursting with admiration for the vampire currently on her lap. “I’ve given you nearly a month to settle in. We’ve run together and we’ve shared secrets together, you hold my hand sometimes and I wrap you up in my arms when I see you need it. You wear my jacket when I know you don’t need it and I love that more than just about anything. Tell me, Bree, tell me if you’re ready for me to ask you the thing we both want asked.”

Aubrey trailed her up thumb over the area on her neck she would bite Stacie if she would ever bite her, feed from her, join them in a way that meant so many things she wasn’t sure she was ready to explain. “Ask me and find out.”

Stacie chuckled at the answer. “Go out with me? Give me a chance to show you what you and me becoming us would really look like.”

Aubrey pressed a kiss to the spot her thumb had just been. She could smell Stacie’s blood just millimeters away. She wanted to bite down, to taste her to know her on a level no one knew her. But she couldn’t yet. She wouldn’t yet. “Yes, I want to know what it’s like to try with you. What it’s like to try with someone who makes me want things I am not sure I have before. Things I actively rejected before.”

Stacie’s right hand slipped up to rest against the middle of Aubrey’s back under her shirt. She needed skin to skin contact as much as possible. While her ability to feel emotions of those who she was touching worked well with humans or other wolves, with vampires it took more focus and more time. But right now, loud and clear, she felt such a wave of warm affection coming from Aubrey. 

“Usually I require someone to take me on a date before I let them put their hand up my shirt.” Aubrey’s eyebrow raised.

“Nothing about us is usual, Bree." Stacie whispered, her thumb stroking over Aubrey’s skin. “A vampire and a werewolf deciding to be together? One needing so much time to touch at all and the other touch starved if she goes an hour without the contact. One who runs under the moonlight on all fours and the other who watches over them on two feet.” She tilted her head up to kiss Aubrey’s chin. “I don’t need another wolf to be happy. I rather learn to compromise than to have everything I want with someone who isn’t you.”

Aubrey breathed in. It wasn’t needed and she wasn’t sure why the words forced her lungs to spring to action. But she did. And she could smell the perfume that Stacie wore, the tea on their breath, something that was uniquely Stacie. “I really like it when you touch me. Chloe does it and I love her for giving me that feeling of temporary warmth. But when you touch me I feel like I might never be cold again.” 

“Baby." The term slipped out just as easily as it had a month ago in the same kitchen. Same chair even. “I am going to be so good to you. And you and I might stumble with each other but you are going to be good to me too. Because you have a kindness inside of you, right next to that protective streak and kitty cornered to self doubt.”

Aubrey chuckled but didn’t disagree. “If I were a wolf like you I’d ask you to go to bed with me. Even just to sleep. Even just to spend the night wrapped up in you. Your scent on me, your arms around me, your heart beating under my ear. But I’m not.”

“It’s so soon for you, Bree, it’s so soon for you to ask me for your own sake. Don’t rush for me. Just keep walking forward and trust me to keep pace.” Stacie carefully put Aubrey on her feet before pulling the sweatshirt she had on off and handing it to Aubrey. “It’s not taking me to bed but it’s warm and it smells like me and it’s something.”

Aubrey hugged her, the sweatshirt sandwiched between them. She tilted her head up to press against kiss to Stacie’s lips, keeping this one as short as the first time they kissed and no less chaste. “Goodnight, Stacie.” She held the sweatshirt in both hands before leaving the younger woman standing there. 

Stacie just stood there for a few long moments, breathing in the scent she could still smell of Aubrey in the air and feeling the warmth she got from touching her until it was just a memory. Such a good memory. 

She headed upstairs, trying not to wake the others. She slipped into the room she shared with Chloe, carefully set her things down, plugged her laptop in and started to get ready for bed. 

“Did she finally say yes?” A voice came from the other side of the room, a little slurred from it’s sleepy owner. “I can smell her on you, it’s a different scent than usual. Something about it’s different.”

“Yeah." Stacie smiled in the dark room, back to Chloe and Beca sleeping soundly in her arms. “I just have to figure out what to plan for the date.”

“Just be with her, whoever you want. That’s what the two of you want most. Forget trying to impress her, you already do or she’d never have said yes." Chloe rested her head back to Beca’s. Sleeping side by side, touching each other and being tangled up, it started a week ago and now it happened every night. 

“So you approve, of me dating her?” Stacie asked as she slipped into bed. 

“She’s my family, she’s my sister, in ways my blood isn’t.” Chloe spoke with her eyes closed. “Just be who I know you are with her. If you are then I know things will work out and you’ll both be happy. And I won’t have to worry about her heart anymore because it will be in the safest hands.”

“That means a lot, Chlo.” Stacie closed her eyes as she settled down. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Stace.” Chloe whispered as her face pressed against Beca’s neck. 

* * *

A week before Beca’s birthday, Dr. Warren Mitchell dismissed the class he was teaching a few minutes before their time was up, having a motive that wasn’t as pure as just being finished for the day. But the majority of students didn’t need to know that. 

“Ms. Beale, may I have a word please?” He called before she had slipped out of the room. 

Having your girlfriend’s father as your comparative lit professor when your girlfriend and her father didn’t talk all that often was not Chloe’s favorite thing but she didn’t have another class she could take in this time slot.

“You wanted to see me, Dr. Mitchell?” Chloe asked as she stepped to the front of the now empty lecture hall. 

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of my daughter but she is being her usual unreachable self. I try to keep the you in the classroom separated from the you who is in a relationship with my daughter but she keeps putting me to voicemail and I haven’t got to see her on her birthday in too long. I was hoping that you and Beca might join Sheila and I for lunch next week on Beca’s birthday.”

Chloe really hated to be in the middle of Beca and her father’s relationship but she could see from the look in his eyes that he meant what he was saying. He really did look like a man who just wanted to see his daughter.

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll talk to Beca about it." Chloe offered. “She and I have dinner plans but lunch may be possible. If she wants, I can’t force her.”

“No, no one can force Beca to do anything she doesn’t want. Not really." Warren chuckled weakly. 

Chloe laughed softly. “I’ll talk to her when she and I meet up for coffee after my next class and have her text you. If she doesn’t want to then I’ll at least tell you after next class, ok?”

“That’s all I ask.” Warren nodded. “And I read your paper on comparing and contrasting Pushkin and Tolstoy last night. Very well done. And no, I’m not saying that because of any of this. You have an eye for Russian lit.”

Chloe smiled at him. “Thank you sir. I should go but I’ll see you at least next class.” 

All during her next class Chloe thought about her girlfriend and Dr. Mitchell. Thankfully it was a film class she took just to fill a general credit and the movie they were watching, she had seen before. Her mind kept going back to the way Dr. Mitchell almost begged her to help him get to see his only child on her birthday. 

She left class to meet Beca after the class had a debate on the movie that Chloe, for once, sat mostly out of. As she walked into the coffee shop she couldn’t help but smile as she watched her girlfriend nod her head along to whatever was coming from her earbuds. 

“Hey you.” Beca smiled as she pulled her earbuds out when Chloe slipped in the seat across from her. 

“Working on something new for the Bellas?” Chloe asked.

“No, my songwriting class. We have to write something original.” Beca explained as she quickly moved her notes to her backpack. 

“You don’t want me to see, do you?” Chloe smirked. “Is it about me?”

“Maybe...” Beca shrugged but her blush and shy smile gave her away. “If it were about you when it was done I might play it for you.”

“Well, if it is about me and you were to play it for me I would probably kiss you for it. Or other fun things...” Chloe slid her hand over Beca’s on top of the table. 

“Evil.” She bit back a groan. 

“Sometimes.” Chloe confirmed with a flirty smile. 

“Here.” Beca slid the coffee she ordered just before Chloe walked in over to her. 

Chloe wrapped both of her hands around the cup after taking a drink of it. It was just the way she liked it. “Your father and I spoke after my class with him.”

“What?” The low growl in Beca’s voice made the hair on the back of Chloe’s stand up. It was pure Alpha protectiveness. 

“He wants to have lunch with you on your birthday. Well both of us. He asked if we wanted to have lunch with him and Sheila.” Chloe explained. 

“I can’t believe he talked to you after class like that." Beca kept her voice down but there was no mistaking her anger. 

“He said you kept putting him to voicemail.” Chloe reached over to put her hand back on Beca’s to try to soothe her. “I think he just didn’t know what else to do. He could have come to Bella House, but I don’t think he would just come to our den like that.”

Beca looked down at her and Chloe’s joined hands. “He broke her heart, my mom’s, when he ran off. And it broke her. She drank and got mean and I lost her for years in the same moment I lost him too. He left and he cheated and now he’s happy and she’s still a little broken. How do I look at the man who used to be superman in my eyes and not see the man who broke my mom?” Her voice was barely a whisper but she knew Chloe could hear her.

“You don’t have to forgive him for what he did. If you never want to talk to him, tell him that and I’ll hold you every night you need me to. But if you want to still have a relationship with him, it’s ok to still want him to be your dad." Chloe brought their joined hands to her lips to kiss Beca’s knuckles. 

“If I still love him, after what he did to my mom, it feels like I’m accepting him cheating. It feels like I’m condoning it somehow.” Beca admitted. 

“You were an innocent bystander in the crossfire when they got divorced. Whatever you want in terms of relationships from either, you should get. I will do everything I can to help you get what you need from both of them.” Chloe’s blue eyes were stormier than usual, the normal bright blue tinged with grey. 

“My family is fucked up.” Beca groaned. 

“Mine too.” Chloe whispered.

Beca wanted to know more of why Chloe acted so skittish around her older sister, defer so quickly to her younger brother and her parents didn’t seem to notice any of it. But asking that felt too much like prying. “You can always talk to me if you need to.”

Chloe didn’t miss the look on Beca’s face. “Let’s go home, lay in the hammock and I’ll tell you anything you want to know, ok?”

“I don’t want to pry into things you aren’t ready to tell me.” Beca replied. 

“You are my girlfriend. I think it will help to let you know about how I grew up, it might make some things make more sense.” Chloe finished her coffee and held her hand out to Beca after standing up. 

They walked toward Bella House, hand in hand, wordlessly. Both of them thinking about their families and the ways in which their influences changed who they became. The skin to skin contact eased both of their minds as they walked. 

“Let me go grab a blanket.” Beca leaned up to kiss Chloe’s cheek once they reached the hammock. “Make a little den that no one can come in but us.”

Chloe watched her disappear inside of the house and her heart eased. Telling Beca about how she grew up wasn’t going to be fun for either of them, Beca was liable to get very angry, but she needed to do it. She needed her to understand.

“Here.” Beca came back out with the blanket they used during the full moon, all washed and clean. 

“Perfect.” Chloe said once they were both in the hammock and the blanket was wrapped around them. 

“Any time I get you cuddled against my side, I’m going to take it." Beca pressed her cheek to the top of Chloe’s head. 

“It wasn’t all bad.” Chloe said a few moments later. “You need to know that first, ok? They didn’t like, lock me in the basement and beat me or make me eat scraps. It’s nothing so dramatic.” She found the bottom of Beca’s shirt with her hand under the blanket and moved her hand under it to rest directly against Beca’s skin. 

“Then tell me what it was, alright?” Beca slid her hand over Chloe’s forearm, her thumb stroking against her smooth skin. 

“Neglectful parents and overly aggressive siblings.” Chloe gave her the short answer. “My parents didn’t like the idea of having a Beta for a child. Not with two Alphas in Abby and Ben. So they left me in their hands a lot when I was in my early teens and then through high school. Abby would make me transform with her and we’d spar for hours until I couldn’t stand up anymore. And Ben would demand things of me, treat me like I was his personal servant to try to get me to stand up to him. Mom and Dad made sure I had a roof over my head and food in my belly but they let it happen, they wanted me to toughen up. Six years of all of that before I left. Things are better now, mostly because they’re all in Portland and I’m in Georgia.” 

The anger that Beca felt came through the bond at full speed. What kind of parents let two Alpha siblings break their Beta child because it might toughen her up? 

“It was worse when I got a girlfriend my junior year. Another Beta who was more dominant than I was. Abby hated me for it. For daring to allow myself to be the less dominant one. If I was going to be with another Beta I should be the one on top, right?” Chloe whispered, her eyes closed. 

“Chlo...” Beca’s own eyes closed, a few tears leaking out for the heartbreak she heard in her girlfriend’s voice. “Is that why you were so shocked at how I treated you? That I was nice to you?” Her voice tightened. 

“Yeah.” Chloe whispered. “Most of the Alpha’s I’ve dated or slept with in my first year or two here, they expected submission from their Beta. I think I mostly went for them because I was trying to prove I could handle it. But you? Us? We have this amazing partnership, we give and we take and it doesn’t matter if you’re an Alpha or I’m a Beta, we are able to do whatever feelings right in the moment. It’s freeing to be with someone who just wants me to be myself.”

“You are extraordinary. You’re funny and caring and beautiful and you love with your whole heart. You want me, a tiny little Alpha with a big bark and a bigger chip on her shoulder. And I - I want you so much I am not even sure I understand how much yet.” Beca pulled back to look down at her. “They aren’t your pack anymore even if they are your family. The Bellas are. Me and Aubrey and Stacie. Ashley and Jessica, Cynthia-Rose and Lilly and little pup Emily, Flo and even Fat Amy who still is “getting a smoothie” somewhere. They are family and I can’t change that but they aren’t your pack.”

Chloe was crying now. Great big tears falling down her cheeks. “I never thought of that. That they could be my family but not my pack. I never thought of that.” She felt a little foolish really. But Beca saying that, asking her to be in her pack so to speak was as great an honor as she could give her. 

“Let me be your Alpha, ok? Forget about us dating for the moment, forget the rest. Stacie and I, we have a pack already sort of with the Bellas and I’ll talk to her about making it official so even when you go back to Portland you aren’t in theirs, ok?” Knowing Stacie, the taller woman would do this in a heartbeat once she knew why. 

“Beca, that seems like a lot of work just for me not to be in their pack anymore...” Because Chloe was a Beta the ins and outs of forming a pack were never really explained to her. 

“It’s not, really!” Beca blushed. “Stacie and I would have to submit a list of names, the names would all have to agree to be in the pack, we’d have to come up with the rules for the pack and once we were approved, we’re officially our own pack. Stace and I wouldn’t ask anything of you, if any of the others want to leave the pack or their partners want to join in the future they could. It would give me some freedom from my mom’s pack who I don’t really have ties to other than through her. Stacie and I would be able to protect the rest of you. In an official way if someone tried anything like your parents tried to force you back home or to mate with someone if they really decided to be dicks.” 

Chloe shivered. It was so antiquated but there were days she was sure she was going to get a request in the mail telling her to come home and do her duty as a Beta. To mate herself to someone who she didn’t know and wouldn’t treat her well. She knew it was slim her parents would go that route but this way they couldn’t even if they wanted. Stacie and Beca would have to consent and there was a better chance of Beca going to Portland in her name than Beca letting her go. 

“Let me protect you, please?” Beca’s voice was a bare whisper. “Forget the feelings, the wonderful romantic feelings, between us and let me protect you, one Bella to another.”

“Ok...” Chloe agreed, her face pressed into Beca’s shoulder. “Because it has always scared me that they have any control over my life. Because I trust you and Stacie to be good Alphas. Because I know you’d protect a pack with everything you are.”

Beca felt such love in the touch between them. She wanted to talk to Stacie but she knew the chemistry major was in the middle of a lab right now. She would have to wait until tonight. “I will always protect you. You’re going to be my mate one day. When we’re ready I’m going to carve three lines into your shoulder and then you’re going to do the same to me. And I will wear those marks so proudly.”

Chloe sniffled. “How are you real? How is there an Alpha in this world who can defend us so strongly and yet lay here with a Beta who broke in her arms and be so tender?”

Beca laughed softly at the question. “Because you’re who I want to protect in our field with the others. And you’re who I want to love in this hammock. It’s easy to be whatever you need because all I want is to be good enough for you.” She admitted.

“If I’m good enough for you, you’re good enough for me. Agreed?” Chloe asked, rubbing at her eyes to get the tears to stop. 

“Agreed.” Beca still didn’t think she was enough but she was trying hard each day to be. 

Chloe nuzzled Beca’s neck, nipping at her skin, less to work her up and more just to try and be a little playful after the emotions of their afternoon. 

“Will you go to lunch on my birthday with me and my dad?” Beca asked after a long spell of quiet. 

“Yes.” Chloe didn’t hesitate. 

“I should see if he’s … better I guess? Maybe it’s worth trying a little bit, I don’t know.” Beca whispered. 

“All you have to do is commit for lunch. Going to lunch isn’t a commitment to see him every day or to forgive him for what he did to your mom.” Chloe kissed her jaw. 

“You’re right." Beca nodded. “Thank you, Chlo.”

Chloe gave a warm smile before closing her eyes and cuddling up. “Lay with me until the others are home from class?”

Beca settled herself in, Chloe half on top of her, fitting just right against her. “Sounds perfect.”

* * *

Stacie dropped herself on her bed with a groan. Her head had a dull ache from a headache and all she wanted to do was ditch her homework and lay in bed for the next twelve hours until she had to get up to go to class in the morning. 

“Hey.” Beca said, sitting on Chloe’s bed. 

“Chloe, you and Beca are starting to sound alike." Stacie managed to get herself to laugh a little. “What’s up, Becs?”

Beca toyed with the rings she wore, trying to figure out a way to say this. “We need to form an official pack. Like fully recognized and official.”

Stacie hadn’t expected those to be the words out of Beca’s mouth. “Can I ask why?”

“Chloe.” Beca said, trying to keep it simple. “Her family, they aren’t good people. I want to give her a pack that will protect her, love her, so if her parents try to pull something it’s you or me they have to deal with and we can tell them to fuck off.”

“How bad are we talking about?” Stacie sat up. 

“Her sister and brother tormented her and her parents let it happen for years because they are Alphas and she’s a Beta.” Beca tried not to go into too much detail, not wanting to betray Chloe’s trust. 

“Shit...” Stacie breathed out. “Emily might not want to join up, I don’t know what her pack status is with her parents if they are part of a larger pack. But if it’s a Bella pack her mom might be more alright with her joining us. The others, I can’t see any of them turning it down.”

Beca felt the knot in her belly ease a little bit. “We’d be equal. I’m not asking you to make me the sole leader.”

“Thanks for that.” Stacie gave a small smile. “Maybe we can look into mixed creature packs? So Jessica, Ashley and Bree can be included?”

“We can look into it tomorrow.” Beca pushed herself off of Chloe’s bed. She laid down on Stacie’s, the two Alpha’s laying against each other. “They broke parts of her Stacie.”

“Then it’s our job as her pack, your job as her girlfriend, to be there so she can figure out how to patch them together and see what fits into who she is now.” Stacie wrapped her arm around the shorter woman. Alphas cuddling wasn’t as common as if a Beta or Zeta was involved. But Beca needed comfort so Stacie would provide it. 

Beca nodded as she let Stacie comfort her. It was nice to have another Alpha around who was willing to support her and who she could support without infighting. “How are things with you and Aubrey?”

Stacie gave a soft smile. “I’m taking her out next Friday. Not sure what we’re doing yet but when I gave her the time and date, she said it worked for her.”

“Chloe said she hasn’t seen her so willing to be around someone, to touch someone and be touched, that wasn’t her before." Beca whispered. 

Stacie chuckled. “I like it a lot when she’s on the couch with me at night when I’m studying and she’s studying and my arm is around her shoulder and her hand is on my leg. I’ve never had a relationship before - if you can call what we have that before the first date - where little things meant so much.”

Beca smiled at how smitten Stacie looked as she recounted how she now liked to spend her nights. “No more random guys and girls getting you to show them the best make out spots on campus?”

“No more.” Stacie shook her head. “Aubrey is worth working on my monogamy skills with. She’s worth cutting myself off after three drinks so I don’t do anything stupid with someone who has a nice smile at a party. Besides, I like dancing with her at parties and seeing her get worked up. She can’t drink and have it do anything to take the edge off even. At least I can have a few to cool off.”

Beca snorted. “I am glad both of you are happy.”

Chloe came around the corner and entered the room, seeing Stacie and Beca cuddled together on her bed. “Should I be worried?”

“Yes, I decided to steel Beca away from you. Because five foot two Alphas are my secret weakness.” Stacie said with a wink. 

“Oh fuck you.” Beca laughed as she got to her feet. “We were just talking about the new pack. Stacie is in, so after practice I can talk to the others.”

“Yeah?” Chloe bit her lip. 

“Yes.” Beca said, leading in to hug her. 

“Thank you." Chloe nuzzled her neck. 

“What, no hug for me?” Stacie pouted from her bed. 

Chloe pulled back from Beca to lean down and give her a hug the best she could before pulling back. “I think Aubrey was looking for you.” She added.

“Was she?” Stacie got off of her bed. “Well if that’s the case then, I should be on my way. I’ll shut the door on the way out.”

After doing just that, she headed downstairs to see Aubrey wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. For good measure she walked to Aubrey’s bedroom door and saw her inside, sitting in a chair by the window with her feet tucked under her and a book in her hand. 

“Your best friend lied to me that you were looking for me so she could get our shared bedroom free to make out with her girlfriend.” Stacie said from the doorway. 

Marking her page in the book and setting it on the small table next to her, she looked up at Stacie. “I’m always curious what your day was like when I don’t get to see you for most of it. So in that way, she was telling the truth.”

“Is that so?” Stacie asked. 

Aubrey stood up and walked over to Stacie, her arms sliding around the brunette’s neck as Stacie’s went around her waist. “Very much.” She leaned up for a kiss, noting in the back of her mind how domestic this all felt. How quickly she had gone from only allowing Chloe to touch her to kissing Stacie at the end of a long day of classes like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Tell me how it was?”

“Long if I’m honest...” Stacie dropped her head to Aubrey’s shoulder. “Back to back labs with people who don’t know hydrogen from helium, some library time, work after it all. I felt like from 10 am until 8 pm my brain didn’t get any breaks. It will get easier once I’m in a better rhythm with everything and figure out how to build in more breaks.”

Aubrey stepped back but kept her arms round Stacie, pulling her deeper inside of the room, the door being shut on Stacie’s way in. “Stay with me for a bit then and see if I can help relax you?”

Stacie nodded as her eyes moved around the room. There was the chair by the window with the small table. Across from it a couch right against the wall the door in and out was on, against the right wall was a queen sized bed. Half a wall of bookshelves built into the wall on the left side where the door for the bathroom was. 

“You really do have the best bedroom in the house.” She stood in the middle of the room with her. Standing here wrapped up in Aubrey already made her feel more relaxed. 

“It is much nicer than I expected once I got everything settled.” Aubrey agreed. She took a few minutes to rub the back of Stacie’s neck, feeling how tense she was. “Take your shirt and bra off and lay down on the bed, please.”

Stacie barked out a laugh. “Baby, if you want that tonight, I am going to cry. I’m too tired for our first time to be right now.”

“I’m going to give you a back rub with a little lavender oil and get the knots out of your back unless you enjoy the feeling of carrying baseballs under your muscles.” Aubrey raised an eyebrow in challenge. 

“I really don’t enjoy it, no.” Stacie said as she untangled herself from Aubrey. 

Turning her back to Aubrey she peeled her shirt off, then her bra, before laying on the perfectly made bed. She grabbed a pillow to wrap in her arms and rest her head on as she looked over at Aubrey looking through a section of the built in bookshelf that had bottles instead of books. 

Aubrey found the bottle of lavender oil she was looking for and walked across the room to the bed. She paused for a moment as she approached the bed, looking like she was trying to commit everything about the moment to memory. “I like you on my bed more than I thought I would.” She admitted as she stepped closer. 

“You say things that make it hard to remember my manners. But don’t you dare stop saying them." Stacie gave her a bashful smile.

Aubrey sat on the edge of her bed, her hand flat against the middle of Stacie’s back. “I never said things like this before. I mostly kept the thoughts inside of my head.” 

“You can say anything to me, Aubrey.” The hand on Stacie’s back made her shiver but it wasn’t from the cool skin. 

“Too cold?” Aubrey questioned. 

“Not at all.” Stacie said truthfully. “I like how you feel when you touch me. The way you leave a trail of cool on my warm skin.”

“If I straddle you to get the leverage I need to get some of the knots out, will you be able to behave?” Aubrey asked. She knew Stacie would, she might make some comments in the process but Aubrey was coming to enjoy those. 

“Yes, Captain.” Stacie smirked. 

Aubrey rolled her eyes as she moved on top of Stacie, trying to get over how comfortable she felt in the position. She and Stacie had hugged before, and she and Chloe had even cuddled from time to time over the years. But this was a very different feeling when it came to her interaction with any werewolf. 

“Alright up there?” Stacie asked, feeling Aubrey’s pause. 

“Just trying to figure out why I am enjoying the feeling of straddling a werewolf on my bed who I have yet to have a first date with." Aubrey grabbed the bottle of oil and poured a little in her hands. Instead of warming the oil it cooled it slightly. 

“Jesus.” Stacie groaned as the cool oil and strong hands came in contact with her back. 

“I think that’s the first time I’ve been called that.” Aubrey commented as she moved her hands over the whole of Stacie’s back to try to figure out where to work first. She hummed softly, using a little of her magically enhanced charms to try and sooth Stacie as she worked.

“Funny.” Stacie felt a groan pulled from deep inside of her as Aubrey started to work a large knot on the middle left of her back. “Oh, fuck.” She whimpered a little as Aubrey’s hands worked. 

“It will hurt a little now, but this way you can sleep tonight without your back as tight as a drum.” She didn’t like causing her pain, but knew it would be temporary.

Aubrey was quiet as she moved knot to knot, working her hands against them until they released and then using her fingers to smooth the area the knot had just been. It took her almost an hour before Stacie’s back and shoulders were knot free. 

“You’ve made me feel sleepy so I don’t hurt as much, didn’t you?” Stacie questioned when the humming stopped and all of a sudden her heavy eyes weren’t so heavy anymore. 

“Nothing that will last more than when I’m humming." Aubrey laid down next to Stacie, mirroring her with a pillow in her arms. “I didn’t want you to hurt any more than you had to while I worked on your back. I should have asked before I did it.”

“You made me feel much better.” Stacie brought her hand up to tuck a few strands of hair behind Aubrey’s ear. “No one has ever given me a massage that good before.”

“I’ve studied anatomy, both in general and yours.” Aubrey admitted. 

Stacie let out a low growl at the admission. The idea that Aubrey studied her, that she would admit to it while Stacie was half naked on her bed after Aubrey spent the better part of an hour with her hands on her, made the wolf’s blood catch fire. “Do you have any idea how much I want to forget everything in the whole world that I have to do tomorrow and spend the day in here, tangled up in you and these sheets when you say things like that?”

“I do. I breathe in sometimes just to catch the scent of what I do to you. I can detect the pheromones coming off of you.” Aubrey admitted. “Knowing that you’re turned on by me, but that you won’t do anything about it because I’m not ready has become something of a mark in your favor.”

“Are you used to people close to you not having control?” Stacie questioned, shifting a little closer, her hand slipping under Aubrey’s shirt to rub over her back. 

“Vampires, the old ones, the ones who were around before things like Phosphorus were discovered, a lot of them have hedonistic tendencies. It’s why you usually aren’t going to meet the really old ones. They stay hidden from the human side of society still.” Aubrey explained, turning her head to press her lips against Stacie’s skin. “I have a lot of siblings that are much older. A lot of them don’t really do self control well. Sometimes the idea of being close to someone that I may be vulnerable to, who isn’t in control of their desires, it troubles me.”

“Aubrey.” Stacie shifted a little closer to her before shifting back. “Move for a second so I can put my bra on and hold you.” She reached over and grabbed it, glad this one covered more of her than some of the other options she had in her drawer upstairs, putting it back on before turning back around.

Aubrey shifted, sending her own shirt to the floor. It was a simple gesture but it gave Stacie much more skin to skin contact. 

“Holy shit...” Stacie groaned. Without her shirt on, Stacie could see Aubrey’s navy blue bra that drew Stacie’s eyes to her pale skin. “Baby...” 

“I know you like skin on skin contact. And I thought while we spoke about this, it might be good to give you the contact so you can feel some of my emotions so I don’t have to spell them out.” Aubrey gave her a more melancholy smile than Stacie was used to seeing. 

Stacie opened her arms, Aubrey slipping in between them without missing a beat. Her head tucked under Stacie’s as their skin pressed together in more contact points than they had ever shared before. It was as natural as either had felt with someone else before, sharing their space with the other. 

“I sought you out over and over again, even when I didn’t have any reason to. I wore your jacket and your sweatshirt, and I offered so little back.” Aubrey whispered, feeling Stacie’s heartbeat vibrate against her body in a way only her kind would. “And you have made me feel important to you in every moment we’ve interacted since last year.”

“Touching you never put me out, Aubrey. I lived for the days you would allow it to happen. It had to stop myself from pushing for more too quickly.” Stacie admitted. 

“I needed time to prepare for the year without moving forward with you. My kind really do move slowly...” Aubrey whispered. “But I couldn’t stop myself from finding some way to touch you. I watched so closely what reaction you had when I withdrew and each time it was the correct one.” Aubrey said, her tone making it clear she regretted her actions.

Stacie trailed the tips of her fingers up and down Aubrey’s spine from where her bra was clasped to her jeans. “Never, and this is important Aubrey, I mean it, never be afraid to touch me. Never doubt that I want you to always be touching me if I had that as an option. Your hand in mine while we talk, or on my thigh while we study or skin to skin like we are right now. Even more than we are now one day.”

“We haven’t gone out on a date yet and you’re already making me question why we need a date to tell us how compatible we are.” Aubrey settled her hand on Stacie’s ribs to feel her chest rise and fall as she breathed. 

“We’re not going on a date to see if we should be a couple. We’re going on a date so we can spend time together away from campus. If you want to put a label on us, we can now or we can after that date or we can after a dozen dates or even not at all.” Stacie cupped her cheek, leaning in to give her a soft kiss. “I don’t need a label to know how it feels when I touch you. I don’t need a label to know that tomorrow after dinner when we study you and I are going to sit together at the kitchen table or on the couch and we’re going to be touching. I don’t need a label to know I want to kiss you every time I see you. I don’t need a label to fall head first into whatever we are.”

Aubrey’s arm moved around Stacie’s waist to bring her closer in, when she did she nipped at Stacie’s neck in the same place she would bite if she were to feed from her. They really couldn’t get closer without one of them being on top of the other. Which in the heat of this moment she was considering more heavily than she usually would. “Three dates and then you can ask me to be your girlfriend.” She whispered, her lips curling into a smile against Stacie’s skin. 

Stacie chuckled as she agreed to the terms of Aubrey’s proposal. “What are my odds of getting a yes?”

Aubrey returned the chuckle. “I’d say they are currently very much in your favor.”

—————

Beca didn’t want to be sitting in the passenger seat of Chloe’s car on her birthday on her way to lunch at her father and step mother’s house but here she was. 

“Why are we doing this again?” Beca asked, dominant hand in Chloe’s as the redhead drove so scrolling on her phone was a no go. She was useless in tasks like that with her right hand. 

“Because your dad really wants to see you on your birthday, plus it gives time for the other Bellas to set up for your party tonight." Chloe could feel waves of nervous energy flowing off Beca even without their touch connection. 

“Stacie and I submitted the pack paperwork this morning.” Beca changed the subject. “So in about a week everything should be back.”

“Yeah?” Chloe brightened at the idea soon she would be officially a member of Beca and Stacie’s pack. 

“Should all be back right before the next full moon. So we’ll be able to celebrate during it.” Beca said with a note of pride. 

“Did you manage to find a way for Aubrey, Jess and Ashley, Flo and Fat Amy to get in too?” Chloe questioned. 

“We did!” Beca said with a hint of pride. “So packs can make their own rules for the most part. Stacie handled most of that with Aubrey’s help and they figured out that by taking out the rule that says full pack members must be a werewolf over sixteen and just put in person over sixteen. We’re hoping that gets approved but Aubrey found other packs it happened. Plus it shouldn’t remove her from her clan with how we worded something later about allowing that.”

“Well done...” Chloe had to admit it was a small change but it would be nice to have her best friend as her Bella sister and pack sister too. “Aubrey does understand in theory she would answer to you and Stacie.” 

“Aubrey is choosing to not acknowledge that fact.” Beca chuckled. “But she’s a vampire. So it’s not like there are any penalties we could use other than removing her from the pack.”

“Oh I do not want to be around if that ever happens.” Chloe made a face. 

“Me either.” Beca snorted. “It’s the third house on the right." She pointed it out when Chloe got to her father’s street. 

Chloe pulled in and turned to look at Beca. “Ready for this?”

“No, but I promised I’d come... and maybe there’ll be cake?” Beca said hopefully. 

There was cake. And awkward conversations were Beca pretended not to blame her father for leaving her mother for the woman right next to him. She tried, she really did. And Chloe, bless her, she tried to make things easier for Beca, holding her hand and sending her as much positive emotion as she could. But Beca felt like she was somehow 14 years old again in her father’s presence. 

“You know Beca.” Warren said as they were finishing up the cake. “If you don’t plan to return to Seattle, it might not be a bad idea for you to look for a pack down here. I found one that I have found to be very welcoming.”

“Oh, yeah that’s not needed. Since so many of the Bellas are wolves, we put in paperwork today to start our own pack.” Beca explained. “Stacie Conrad and I will act as the Alphas. Chloe, Cynthia-Rose Adams and Emily Junk for the Betas and Lilly Onakuramara is a Zeta. And we have three vampires and two humans joining as well.”

Warren was a little taken aback. “You’re starting your own pack at nineteen?”

“You’re right about not staying in Mom’s pack if I’m not living in Seattle again. And the Bellas are a family anyway. This way we solidify that even more.” As Beca spoke it dawned on her that having her own pack got her out of having to pick a pack that either her mother wanted her to pick or her father did. It was a nice way to get away with not taking a side.

“You think you’re ready to take on leading like that?” Warren asked. 

“Beca is really good at it, Doctor Mitchell.” Chloe said, looking over at Beca with a smile. “Honestly, being in her and Stacie’s pack is going to be the proudest I’ll ever have been to be in someone’s pack.”

“Thank you.” Beca held her hand tightly. 

“Well then, congratulations are in order.” Warren held his drink up toward his daughter. “I’m proud of you for stepping up, Beca. If your friends need a pack and you’re willing to take that on, I’ll support you however you need.”

“Thanks Dad.” Beca looked away from Chloe to her father. “It means a lot.”

They left soon after, Beca only able to handle so much of her father after so many years of staying as far away from him as she could get most of the time. She held Chloe’s hand as she drove, this time not wanting to play on her phone. 

“That didn’t go so bad!” Chloe smiled as she drove them back to Bella House. 

“No.” Beca agreed. “And if he can accept me and not try to pull ‘I’m your father and you should do what I tell you’ on me, we’ll be ok I think. Maybe.” She was hedging her bets. She was used to him letting her down. 

“At least it’s over and now we can go have fun with the Bellas. I know you’ll have fun at your own birthday party with them.” Chloe said happily. 

“I will.” Beca grinned. “I just hope we have enough alcohol.”

“Aubrey went since she’s the only one over 21 other than me. She had to go alone, she couldn’t risk taking anyone under age.” Chloe knew it would be hit or miss on how much she got. 

“We managed to send the vampire, who can’t get drunk without biting someone who has been drinking, to get alcohol for my birthday?” Beca laughed at the very thought. 

“Hey, you should take it as a sign of how much she likes you that she did it. She could have left it to me and then we’d be stopping on our way home and I’d have to leave you in the car.” Chloe pointed out. 

“True.” Beca agreed. 

Once Chloe had packed her car in her usual spot, she turned to Beca. “I really hope you have a great birthday.” She grinned at her and Beca knew she had a very good idea of what was in store for them.

“How scared should I be?” Beca questioned. 

“Don’t be scared. Bree sent photos that I checked when you were hugging your dad goodbye. Everything looks great.” Chloe assured her. 

“I trust your party approving skills.” Beca unbuckled before getting out of the car. “You are a party animal, Beale.”

Chloe laughed as she slipped her hand into Beca’s as they walked towards the house. “Think you can get me to howl before the end of the night?”

“Is that a dare?” Beca grinned.

“Maybe.” Chloe grinned back. 

The front door opened, Cynthia-Rose and Lily standing there with smiles on their face. “About time you two got here. Aubrey wouldn’t let anyone open the new stuff until you got here!”

“Sounds about right, yeah." Beca laughed as they walked into the house. “Wow.”

There were party decorations all over, streamers and balloons over any space they could find. Beca smelled food coming from the kitchen and a table had been set up with alcohol and mixers. 

“Dude, you guys went all out...” Beca looked around at her friends, feeling a little emotional even if she fought to keep from showing too much of it. 

“It’s a thank you party for the new pack and your birthday party, we had to go all out!” Cynthia-Rose gave her a one armed hug. 

“Like it?” Chloe asked from Beca’s side.

“Like it? I am in awe of it...” Beca admitted as she leaned over to kiss Chloe. The room was soon full of howling as the other wolves couldn’t pass up the chance to tease Beca.

After everyone ate and had a few rounds of drinks in them, they all forced Beca to sit in the middle of the couch so she could get her birthday gift. 

“It’s not a lap dance from Chloe.” Stacie grinned as Chloe went upstairs to get it. 

“Nope, that comes later when you get kicked out of your room.” Beca smirked back. 

“Aubrey, Beca is being mean to me!” Stacie turned to the vampire next to her, giving her a pout. 

“You can sleep in my room tonight then.” Aubrey rolled her eyes at the two of them. 

“Seriously?” Stacie raised an eyebrow. 

“I don’t need sleep, I was going to work on a paper tonight anyway.” Aubrey explained as everyone else got super into their phones for a moment. 

Stacie bit back a growl at the way Aubrey could get under her skin so well without seaming to try at all. Before she could think of something to say Chloe was back with the box. 

“So this is from all of us, we wanted to all go in on something that we knew you’d really like but never buy for yourself.” Chloe bit her lip before handing the package over to Beca.

Beca carefully unwrapped it, being one of those people who didn’t just rip open the paper. When she did get it open she nearly dropped the box in shock. 

“You got me studio grade headphones?” Beca looked up, eyes wide. 

“You mentioned your current pair was getting old and not sounding the same. So I talked to Luke and he gave me some options. We all chipped in to make sure that you got something you’d really get to use." Chloe barely got the words out before Beca set the headphones down and gave her a body slam of a hug. 

“Thank you, so much." Beca pressed her face to Chloe’s neck. “This is such a great birthday gift.” She had always taken part time jobs in high school to afford her equipment. Only her laptop, which she paid for the spec upgrades, came from her parents. 

“Seriously, thanks guys.” Beca squeaked as she was soon in the middle of a group hug, the vampires even joining in on the fun. 

The music was turned up after the new headphones were safely in Beca’s room, away from any possible shenanigans that may happen. Now that they had a solid layer of food in their bellies everyone who wanted to drink started to. 

Beca had drink after drink handed to her as her friends wished her a happy birthday. After several hours of drinking in the living room and dancing with Chloe and with her friends, she needed a little fresh air. 

She sat down on the back steps, her head in her hands as she tried to get a grip. Dancing with Chloe was affecting her as much as the alcohol in her veins. 

“Here.” Aubrey came out, sitting next to her and handing her an open bottle of water. “Drink this, it will make you feel better.”

Beca carefully took the bottle of water in two hands and tipped it up, draining the bottle in a few gulps. She tried to set it down next to her, taking a few tries to get it right. Aubrey held back a snort at her coordination. 

“You gonna give me the ‘hurt Chloe and I’ll suck all your blood out and murder kill you’ talk or something?” Beca asked, looking at Aubrey with slightly unfocused eyes. 

“You will hurt her at some point. She has a soft heart and wears it so proudly.” Aubrey moved her arm around Beca as the younger girl leaned against her. “Just always try to make it up to her, because she deserves someone who will always try to make up for their sins against her.”

“She deserves better than me...” Beca whispered, her words a little fuzzy like her head felt at the moment. “But she wants me. How can I not give her what she wants?”

“She deserves a better best friend than me too, but you don’t tell Chloe Beale no when she tells you you’re her best friend.” Aubrey shook her head a little, a small smile on her lips. 

Beca leaned against Aubrey as her body tried to process the alcohol in her eyes. “Will her parents be upset she’s in another pack, that she left them?”

“Maybe. But she’s of age and there isn’t much they can do about it." Aubrey would use every connection she had, every power she had control of, to protect Chloe if she needed. She was quickly getting the impression that Beca would be side by side with her if needed. 

“I want to rip her sister’s throat out. And her brother’s for what they did to her.” Beca admitted. “I don’t know how I’m going to ever meet them and not.”

“It would hurt Chloe if you started something with her family. It’s the only reason I was able to meet Abby and not do anything.” Aubrey said with a distaste in her voice. She didn’t like the cocky attitude of the elder Beale sister even if she didn’t know all of the things Abby had done to Chloe. 

“She still loves them even if she doesn’t like them...” Beca replied.

“She still loves them even if she doesn’t like them.” Aubrey confirmed.

“That sucks.” Beca whispered. 

“I wish she could cut them out for what they have done to her but I’m not one to talk either.” Aubrey admitted only because she was pretty sure Beca wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning. 

“Me either.” Beca closed her eyes as her head rested on Aubrey’s shoulder. 

Aubrey looked down to say something but found that Beca had fallen to sleep resting against her. After a few moments, to make sure that she wouldn’t wake her up, she carefully lifted Beca up, thankful her extreme strength would allow her to take her inside easily. 

“Hey...” Chloe met her in the kitchen. “She alright?” She swayed side to side, a little drunk her own right. 

“She’ll be fine. I’m going to go put her in her bed upstairs." Aubrey explained to her friends. 

“I’ll come with you. Lay down with her, I’m kinda sleepy...” Chloe admitted. 

Aubrey carried Beca up to the bedroom that Chloe and Stacie shared. She had a feeling it would be safer for them to be in this room together than to scar poor Emily. Carefully she set her down on the bed before turning to her best friend. 

“You found a good one, Chlo.” Aubrey laughed softly when Chloe pulled her into a hug, a sloppy kiss pressed to her cheek. 

“I know.” Chloe said in a too loud whisper. “I am going to let her mark me one day. And I’m going to mark her. And we’re going to have lots of great sex.”

Aubrey tried not to laugh at her best friend but it was difficult. “Why don’t you lay down and get some rest, ok?”

After making sure Chloe did lay down, Aubrey headed back downstairs. The music had been turned off by someone, Emily, Cynthia-Rose and Flo were sleeping on the couch in a heap, Lilly wrapped up in a giant blanket in the chair. 

“Jessica and Ashley just went up to bed.” Stacie came out of the kitchen. “I can go to my room if you want. I doubt Chloe and Beca are in a position to do anything more than snore tonight.”

“I offered you my room.” Aubrey said before turning the lights in the living room out so those down here could sleep peacefully. “The offer stands if you still want it.”

Stacie nodded, reaching out to take Aubrey’s head as they walked toward her room. “I am very happy to take you up on this Bree.” 

Aubrey shut the door behind them after both entered the room. Having Stacie in her space, a place as private as her bedroom, was an adjustment but one Aubrey was more than willing to keep making. 

“Here.” She handed Stacie a shirt that Stacie had given her to wear a few days ago in the clothing exchange that seemed to happen between them. “Bathroom is through that door.”

Stacie washed up and changed into the shirt and nothing else before walking out. Aubrey looked up, her eyes trailing over Stacie’s long legs, she was sitting on the couch with her laptop balanced in her lap. 

“No way, if I’m sleeping in your bed, you’re working from your bed.” Stacie offered Aubrey her hand. 

“I won’t disturb you?” Aubrey wondered. 

“I’m a deep sleeper, promise.” Stacie crawled into Aubrey’s bed, moving closer to the side of the bed that was against the wall. 

Aubrey moved to sit on the bed, swinging her legs up and getting comfortable. She dropped the brightness on the screen and turned the lights out, her vision making it possible for her to work in even less light. 

“Goodnight." Aubrey bent her head to give Stacie a goodnight kiss. 

“Night, babe." The pull of alcohol and the comfort of being in Aubrey’s bed already pulling Stacie to sleep. 

* * *

Aubrey and Chloe were always careful to have a more low key practice when Bella’s practice fell during the full moon. More focus on harmonies and working on strengthening their voices. 

What didn’t change during these practices was Aubrey expecting everyone to be on time. 

“It’s not like Emily to be late.” Beca came up to Aubrey and Chloe after 15 minutes of waiting for the youngest Bella. “Me, maybe. But not Emily.”

“Has anyone tried her phone?” Chloe asked, having a bad feeling about all of this. 

“Twice.” Beca said as she started to get a nervous feeling low in her belly. 

“What’s up?” Stacie walked over, seeing the way the other three were huddled together. Her hand took Aubrey’s j. 

“Emily isn’t here and she isn’t answering her phone.” Aubrey filled her in. 

“Did you howl for her?” Stacie asked. 

“Oh right.” Beca blushed, her and Chloe’s arms around each other as Beca tried not to look guilty she forgot that was an option. Alpha’s could howl to their pack as a way to find them over a dozen or so miles. 

“Let me go do it and see if I get a reply.” Stacie said before turning around and heading outside. 

She closed her eyes as she stepped outside of the building Bella’s practice was in and turned her head to the sky. Opening her mouth she let out a howl that could be heard a dozen or so miles away. If Emily was in the area she should be able to reply. 

Her eyes shot open when she heard the reply back. Emily was calling for help, howling out in a mix of fear and pain. 

“Mitchell, Posen, Beale, with me now!” Stacie opened the door enough to call their names before taking off toward the woods where she heard the howl of destress coming from. 

Stacie heard the others burst out of the room and run after her. She let out another howl without breaking her stride and heard Emily again begging for help in her reply. She was thankful as she ran that she had on flats and dressed down, the full moon already starting to affect her and they were still hours away from transforming. 

She only stopped running when she reached a group of three men in a cleaning in the forest, Emily in the middle with a cut on her cheek and her left arm held against her body. 

“You’re all going to want to run before you no longer have the ability...” Stacie growled. She was thankful by the time they all turned to look at her, Aubrey, Beca, Chloe caught up. She could hear the others making their way to them as well. 

“We found her kissing some human boy, he ran off and we thought we’d remind her to make better choices.” One of the men said. 

They weren’t Barden students. They were older and their clothes were dirty, like they were staying in the woods full time. Stacie looked to her left and then right and saw Beca and Aubrey standing beside her now, Chloe on Beca’s right. 

“She is not yours to decide to punish or not. She belongs to my pack and mine alone.” Beca growled as she took a step forward. 

“Better remind her not to kiss boys who don’t know nothing then.” One by one the men left, slipping into the darkness of the forest. 

The group moved to Emily, who was crying as she knelt on the forest floor. She wouldn’t look at the others. If she and Benji had just been more careful or found a building instead of the woods, none of this would have happened. 

“Hey...” Stacie knelt down, cupping her uncut cheek to tilt her head up. “You’re going to be ok, ok?” She gave her an encouraging smile. “We’ll report that there are some rogue wolves in the forest and make sure we all stick to campus until they are gone. We’ll protect you, I promise.” 

“Can I see your arm, Emily?” Chloe asked, her voice soft so she wouldn’t spook the younger Beta. 

Emily nodded as she carefully held her arm out. She winced as Chloe carefully checked it over but it wasn’t as bad as she thought it might have been after her fall. 

“I think you just sprained your wrist, we can go to student health if you want to be sure.” Chloe explained in a kind voice.

“No.” Emily whispered, using her good hand to wipe her tears away. “I just want to go home. Curl up in my bed after a shower. Call Benji and tell him I’m really sorry for this. He tried to defend me but they ran him off. He looked so scared.”

“We’ll make sure he’s ok.” Beca carefully helped the taller girl to her feet. “We are going to need to get that cut looked at though.”

“May I?” Jessica asked, stepping forward. She had a small bag with her that she usually kept in her backpack. 

Emily nodded as she made it to her feet. “What’s in the bag?”

“Basic first aid stuff. Something I always have in case someone else needs it. And if you don’t want to get stitches, one of the vampires can close the cut for you.” Jessica smiled at Emily. “We have to close bite marks after we feed if we were to feed on a human. Kind of gross but our saliva acts as a natural anticoagulant and will close it up for you.”

“Really?” Emily asked, perking up a little at learning something new. “Will you?”

“Yup.” Jess hummed softly as she cleaned out the cut. She didn’t want to overdo the charm on the young werewolf after all she had been through but soothing her she felt comfortable with. “Ok, now the gross part. I have to lick your cheek.”

“Ok." Emily closed her eyes, feeling Jessica lean in. It only took a few swipes of her tongue before Emily’s cheek wasn’t bleeding anymore. Already it was starting to knit itself back together. “Thank you, Jess. I really didn’t want to go to student health.” She admitted.

“We’re in the same pack, we watch out for each other.” Jessica said, sliding her arm around Emily’s side to help her walk back, still humming a little. 

Ashley followed closely as did the rest of the pack, each looking worried about Emily, Lilly looking back towards where the men came from every few steps with an odd expression. Beca, Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey staying back. 

“Tonight, we need to be on guard.” Aubrey’s eyes were narrow at the thought of what could have happened. 

“I think we should make sure no one goes off alone tonight, always have a buddy.” Chloe said as the four of them started to slowly walk out of the forest. 

“Good idea.” Beca held her hand as they walked. “And Emily, I don’t want her to go off without Stacie or me with her. I don’t trust those assholes not to find her again tonight.”

“Good idea.” Stacie agreed, her hand in Aubrey’s to keep the rage she was feeling in check. She wanted to run into the forest and rip all of their heads off. 

“You two take care of the pack, Stacie and I will go report this.” Aubrey said once they reached the edge of the forest. “We should be back before Stacie needs to eat for tonight. Tell Jess or Ashley to have a double bag for me please. I need to make sure I’m in total control tonight, a little extra blood will help.”

“Alright." Beca agreed. “Text us if you’re going to be more than an hour? The others will worry." She said, knowing she would too but not wanting to admit it in the moment. 

“Alright.” Stacie hugged the shorter Alpha, feeling Beca hug back tightly. She hugged Chloe next, wanting to comfort her as her friend and her Alpha. 

Both pairs walked in separate directions to complete what they needed to get down before the moon rose high in the sky tonight. 

* * *

“The men turned themselves in?” Emily asked when Beca and Stacie came upstairs after getting off with a local police department just before nightfall. 

“Yeah, the cops didn’t understand it either.” Beca sat down on the end of Emily’s bed. 

“Lily went off on her own for a few hours and when she came back she just smiled at me.” Stacie ran a hand through her thick hair. “I’m not questioning what she did because I’ve learned enough about her to know that not knowing something can be a good thing. But we wanted you to know they’ve been arrested. You’ll still have to give the police a statement tomorrow.”

Emily nodded as she laid on her bed and looked up at the two Alphas. “Thank you, for howling for me, for coming when I called you.”

“That’s what we do.” Stacie sat down on Beca’s bed. “We’re a pack, we’re Bellas on top of that and friends on top of that. We’re always going to have your back. Even if you kiss Treblemakers.”

Emily blushed. “Benji is okay by the way. He cut his leg running to campus security on a tree branch but he’s ok.”

“Some people, wolves, vampires or humans are rotten. Don’t let assholes like those three put you off from seeing him if you want. He’s a good guy.” Beca smiled at her, trying her best to play the big sister. 

“I told him that I want to see him again. And he sounded like he always does. He gets so excited when I tell him I like him or we talk about going out or even when we are out together.” Emily gave a bashful grin. 

“You two are sweet together.” Stacie smiled. “Might even get Aubrey to break the rules and allow a Treblemaker into the house, like the living room thought. I would not try to bring him up here or none of us will stop that hellfire.”

Emily went bright red at the mention but her grin didn’t fade. “I mean you could distract her?”

Stacie laughed deeply. “I might be able to pull something off. Far, far in the future.”

“I am not distracting Aubrey so you and Benji can bone...” Beca shivered at the idea. “I like my vital organs in the right order inside my body.”

“Might have to talk to Chloe about upping her game then.” Stacie stood up, tossing a wink to the room before walking out. 

Stacie poked her head into Jessica and Ashley’s room. “Half hour until we leave.”

“You got it." Jessica smiled. “Aubrey already told us you want us on high alert tonight even if those guys are with the authorities. We won’t let you down.”

“Thanks guys, you’re the best." Stacie smiled before heading across the hall. 

Cynthia-Rose was laying on her bed on her phone while Lilly was sharpening a large knife with a whetstone. Stacie didn’t comment on the knife, it was safer. 

“Half hour.” Stacie reminded them. 

“Good, I’m starting to get antsy...” Cynthia-Rose looked up at her. “After today I need to run around and try to burn off some energy.”

“Just make sure you don’t go off alone.” Stacie reminded her. She turned to leave before looking back at Lily. 

“She’s ours to protect." Lily said without looking up. Her voice as loud as Stacie had heard it all year. “So I did.”

Stacie felt a wave of horror and of affection for the Zeta at her words. She really needed to remind herself never to get on Lily’s bad side. Shaking it off she headed downstairs to make sure the coolers were ready to go. 

“Hey.” She bent her head for a quick kiss to Aubrey after entering the kitchen and seeing her get things packed. 

“Everything is ready to go. I went out while you and Beca were talking and I picked up some calf bones with the marrow still inside. I thought you all should have something comforting tonight." Aubrey didn’t look at Stacie as she tried to triple check everything was where it should be. 

“You’re the best almost girlfriend.” Stacie leaned against the counter that separated them. 

“I’m angry and I thought instead of taking that out on any of you I would channel that into trying to be supportive.” Aubrey said, finally looking up.

“I haven’t felt this kind of rage in a long time.” Stacie breathed out, nodding. 

“Come here?” It was Aubrey’s turn to offer Stacie come comfort after weeks of Stacie being the one in control.

It took Stacie no time at all to move around the counter and into Aubrey’s arms. She held her tightly as her face pressed to the vampire’s neck. “I should have known sooner one of my Beta’s was in trouble. I should have just felt something and known.”

“Werewolves are touch empaths. You aren’t omniscient just because you’re her pack leader.” Aubrey reminded her, rubbing under Stacie’s shirt to give her the touch she knew she needed. 

“Smart and beautiful.” Stacie joked so she didn’t have to think all that hard about the guilt she felt at not knowing Emily needed her until she howled for her, “Lucky me.”

Aubrey leaned up to kiss Stacie, she needed to try and do something to make her feel better. And honestly kissing Stacie made her feel better too. When the kiss deepened, it was Stacie that pulled back. 

“The others will be down soon. And if I keep kissing you they are going to get a show that for once I’d like to keep private.” Stacie leaned in to kiss her softly one more time. 

“Smart and beautiful, what a combination." Aubrey teased back. 

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning when Aubrey heard it. The crunch of a leaf about 20 yards to her right. She slipped out of her seat, silently moving toward the sound she heard. When she saw it was a person she moved deeper into the woods so she could come up behind him. 

“What are you doing here like this?” Aubrey’s voice was just inches from the back of Benji’s head. 

Benji jumped nearly out of his skin, falling down and landing on his knees before turning over and doing a very effective crab walk back to lean against a tree. 

“Em-Emily. I wanted to make sure she was alright after what happened. I just wanted to watch over her. Those guys, the ones that pushed her, the ones that were in the woods, they scared her so I wanted to make sure she didn’t get scared again.” Benji was breathing so quickly Aubrey thought he might have a panic attack. 

Aubrey looked down at him, her eyes narrowing a bit as she tried to figure out if she believed him. Out of all the Treblemakers, he had always been the one she disliked the least. Honestly she was practically neutral about him. 

“If you want to see her, I will allow it. But she is transformed, have you seen her like that before?” Aubrey questioned. 

“Not before tonight, no. I can kinda see them all laying together chewing on something." Benji replied. 

“I bought them calf bones." Aubrey explained. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything for him, if he wanted to be with a creature that wasn’t human he needed to understand what the terms were. 

“She likes that, during the full moon?” Benji looked up, trying to take note of things he needed to know. 

“They do, yes.” Aubrey offered her hand to Benji and was a little surprised when he allowed her to help him up. “Come on.”

The pair walked out of the woods, Stacie meeting them before they got to the others. She stepped directly in Benji’s way. Aubrey bent down, rubbing her large head, trailing her fingers down her muzzle. 

“Let him see Emily, Louve.” Aubrey using the female term for wolf in French. It was a term of affection that once she thought of it slipped out as naturally as anything, especially when Stacie was transformed. “It will be good for them both, I think.”

Stacie appeared to think about it for a moment before stepping out of Benji’s path. She followed him though, ready to attack if she needed. Beca’s eyes on him the moment she saw him, though she stayed laying with Chloe on a blanket not far from Emily. 

“You’re beautiful...” Benji whispered when he got to Emily’s blanket. He fell down to his knees and held his hand out. He had no idea what to do but thought it was best to let her be the one that touched him first. 

Emily shifted forward on the blanket, licking his hand and putting her head against him. 

“She’s telling you that it’s ok to pet her head." Aubrey translated when Benji looked unsure of what to do. 

“Can she understand me, can they all understand me?” Benji asked. 

“They can, and they will remember it. Their personalities mostly track, they might be a little more reckless at times though.” Aubrey chuckled when Stacie gave a whine of protest. 

“You can stay out here with her for as long as you want. We will wake you in the morning if you fall asleep, and they will watch over you." Aubrey was allowing more freedom to Benji than she would have to anyone else around her Bellas, her pack. 

“Thank you, Aubrey.” Benji looked up with a smile. His hand rubbing carefully over Emily’s head. 

Aubrey nodded before walking back to her seat, Stacie trotted after her. She had moved her chair from under the structure the school built so she was next to Stacie’s blanket. It was nice to sit there in the quiet and be together. Even if the wolf form of Stacie snored when she slept. 


	4. Under a Bloody Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you G for the Beta assist on this chapter. 
> 
> There is a first date, a first time (kinda) and a riff off!

Stacie waited until she, Jessica and Ashley were the only ones in the house before heading to their bedroom. It was two days before her date with Aubrey and she still wasn’t sure what her plan should be. She had to figure out something memorable. 

“Hey, Stacie knocked on the frame of the open door. “Do you two have a minute to help me out with something?” She gave them a hopeful look. 

“Of course!” Jessica was at the desk while Ashley was on the bed, both with textbooks open. “What’s up?”

“Aubrey and I are going out on Friday and pretty much every date I’ve been on focused around food or sex and well, kind of drawing a blank here.” Stacie said, blushing a little. 

Jessica and Ashley shared a smile before turning back to Stacie. They were rather amused by all of this. 

“Vampires like us are easy.” Ashley explained. “Our parents aren’t really that old, and we’re mostly sort of human. Aubrey’s family is pretty different with her mom being... well, that’s her story to tell…” She trailed off.

“But...” Jessica cut in, “I think Aubrey would really like you to treat her like normal. Because anyone from our world mostly wouldn’t. They would go over the top about it because they would want to impress her family more than impress her.”

Stacie knew very little about the details of Aubrey’s family life outside of her admission that her siblings were mostly all a lot older and her worrying over this lack of self control. She noted at some point she might need to know more about them but even for her and her kind it was too soon.

“Thanks guys.” Stacie breathed out. She could do this. She could totally do this. She could take Aubrey out on a low key but romantic date just the two of them. 

Jessica smiled from her seat at the desk. “She really likes you and you really like her. Just do what feels natural and what you’re both into.”

Stacie slowly nodded as she slowly started to form an idea. It was simple and honestly something they had sort of done before but it would be romantic in this context and it would allow her to show Aubrey she knew her. She just needed to get a few things prepared first. “I think I have a plan in mind now.”

She slipped out of their room and went to hers to write out a list of what she was going to need. She wanted to keep it low key but she didn’t want to forget anything either. 

After finishing some homework she headed back downstairs to find something for dinner. Too many of them had late classes today for a Bella family dinner tonight but that didn’t mean Stacie didn’t need to eat. 

“Hey you.” Stacie wrapped Aubrey up behind as she made herself some tea. 

“I was wondering where you were.” Aubrey subtly leaned back against her. 

“Upstairs doing some homework.” Stacie rested her chin on Aubrey’s shoulder. Her eyes closed as she soaked up the simple moment between them. “I can do some reading down here though if you’re going to be around.”

Aubrey grabbed a second mug and added a tea bag to it to make Stacie a cup while making her own. “I’d like that.”

“I do.” Stacie tightened her arms a little bit around her waist as a question bubbled up inside of her. There were things about Aubrey she needed to understand, things that she should know if they were going to move forward the way they both seemed to want. “Can I ask you something?”

“Alright...” Aubrey filled the two mugs with water when it came to a boil. She had been cold all day thanks to a light rain falling over campus. Stacie was doing as much to warm her as the tea would. 

“Friday before our date, will you go downstairs to feed?” Stacie asked. Because of the nature of their natures, she was trying to be careful with her word choices. The last thing she wanted to do was piss Aubrey off before their date. 

“I was planning on it, yes. It helps me control myself." Aubrey answered, turning in Stacie’s arms, looping her arms around the taller girl’s neck. “Why?”

“Walk me through the process?” Stacie asked, for once she took on a shy tone. From all she knew about vampires, letting others watch them feed was no small ask. 

It didn’t shock Aubrey that Stacie wanted to find out more about her kind, after all this year had been a crash course in having romantic feelings for a werewolf for her. “Now or Friday?”

“Tell me now and show me Friday?” Stacie requested as she kept Aubrey close to her. “I want to know important things about you like you know important things about me.” She explained as her hands moved in slow circles around Aubrey’s hips. 

Aubrey looked into Stacie’s eyes. The naked desire to know her, inside and out, monster and human, almost made Aubrey uneasy. She wasn’t used to wanting to be understood by those who didn’t already understand her creature. “Have you ever seen a vampire feed before?”

“No." Stacie whispered, her eyes dropping to Aubrey’s lips. “You’ve only let me see your fangs once and it was just for a second. And that’s as much as I’ve seen from any vampire.”

“Do you want to see them?” Aubrey asked, her voice a bare whisper. 

Stacie’s tongue poked out to wet her dry lips. She did and Aubrey knew she did or she wouldn’t be forward enough to ask. How to answer was the question, did she admit it or did she play coy? “Yes.”

Aubrey opened her mouth as her fangs appeared, dropping down to replace her human canines. 

Remembering what Aubrey said about how sensitive they were and the impact kissing her with them down would have, Stacie kept herself from leaning in to the kiss she wanted. 

“Sometimes when I nuzzle your neck they drop down. And all I want to do is open my mouth and bite down on your neck. But you and I, we’re not ready to give each other pieces of ourselves like that." Aubrey whispered. 

Stacie shivered at the words and the look on Aubrey’s face as she said them. She would pay any piece asked of her at the moment if it meant Aubrey would bite down on her neck and take a long drink from her. “I’ve given you pieces of myself already." Her eyes closed.

“You have." Aubrey admitted, pressing a kiss over her pulse point. Her mouth against her skin for less than a full beat of Stacie’s heart. It would be so easy for her to bite down but she knew it would cost more than either could pay right now. “But this is unlike anything you’ve given me before. It’s you giving me life in a very tangible way. It’s you leaving a mark on my soul that will never go away.”

“Tell me how you feed?” The weight of what feeding from her meant to Aubrey hadn’t crossed Stacie’s mind in a real way before. But knowing it would mark her soul, stay with her as long as Aubrey was alive - or undead - made her pause. She shivered when Aubrey’s fingers brushed her cheek.

“The blood is kept in a cooler." Aubrey whispered as the pair stood there together, wrapped up in each other in the kitchen of a shared home. “I take it out half an hour before I feed so it will be a little warmer. But it’s never warm enough but leaving it out much longer can make it bitter.” She explained as her fingers played over the back of the werewolf’s neck. “I bring the bag to my mouth and use my fangs to puncture it. Then I drain it, gulp after gulp until the bag is empty and I am not.” Her tongue poked out to trace over top of a branch of Stacie’s carotid artery. “A minute from bite to completion.”

The power of speech had all but left Stacie’s body as she stood there in Aubrey’s arms. The description and the way Aubrey was giving such careful attention to her neck had created an ache in her belly that she had never felt standing in a kitchen fully dressed before, that was for sure. “And if you feed from me, how would that change things?” She managed to get her mouth and vocal cords to work.

“If I were to bite you, the blood would be warm. So perfectly warm.” Aubrey’s eyes closed as she tipped her head forward to rest on Stacie’s shoulder. She couldn’t kiss her neck while explaining this part. “I would have you lay down on my bed instead of being in the cool, dark basement. You’d give me that little grin you do when you are trying to get me to relax, I can see it now.” She all but shook with the desire to pull Stacie to her bedroom but she controlled herself for now. “And I would lay over top of you and press my fangs into your carotid artery and gulp down your blood. And then use my tongue to heal you. It would feel pleasurable for both of us. Not like an orgasm but like the sort of pleasure from waking up from a good sleep and snuggling back in bed with no where you need to be. I’d roll off of you and knowing you, you’d roll on to me. And we’d lay there, tangled in each other as I wore your blood on my lips until you kissed it away.” 

“Baby." Stacie felt her heart thumping in her chest as the feeling of desire she felt mixed with the worry of what marking herself on Aubrey’s soul would do to the vampire if she gave in before she was ready. “When you’re ready, you do that, ok? You pull me to your room and you lay me down and you take all of the blood you want. Hum to me like you did when you rubbed my back. Just leave me with enough to be your meal the next night. And the next.”

Being reminded of using her charms on Stacie when she was rubbing her back felt like ice down Aubrey’s spine even if the werewolf hadn’t meant it to be.

“I don’t want to be my family." Aubrey’s voice was hard even for Stacie to hear. It was so quiet. “My family members have raped, pillaged and murdered with a smile on their lips that left the women they harmed thankful for having met them. They take, all of them take in their own ways, from the women who care for them. I don’t want to take from you any more than I am sure you giving me won’t destroy us in the process. I’m overly careful with you. I know I am. Just let me calm my own nerves?”

Stacie trusted Aubrey, fangs up or down. But she couldn’t deny her the comfort of being sure for her own sake before the vampire’s fangs met her neck. She was used to pushing the envelope, and she would keep doing that with their relationship but her fulfilling Aubrey’s blood lust? That she had to leave in the vampire’s hands. 

They held each other until they both heard the front door open, too wrapped up in the moment to notice earlier. Stacie made a face as she backed away from the eldest Bella, her own face flushed while Aubrey’s fangs were gone. 

“Are we interrupting something?” Beca asked looking between the two. 

“How was your day?” Stacie waved her off as she moved to the fridge to try and find something to eat and let the air cool her off. They really should have gone to Aubrey’s room. 

“Not bad." Chloe’s eyes caught Aubrey’s. She knew her best friend well enough to know whatever she and Beca walked into in this kitchen had shaken the vampire. For the better or worse she wasn’t sure yet. “Hey, Aubrey, can I use some of that peppermint oil you have in your room? I think I tweaked my back today.”

Aubrey, still thinking about her conversation with Stacie, simply nodded as she and Chloe walked over to her bedroom. When Chloe shut the door behind them she figured out Chloe’s back was fine. 

“I want to feed from her." Aubrey kept her back to Chloe as she admitted to her friend something she once swore she would never do to someone. “I want to take her to bed, Chlo, and I want to feed from her. And I am scared I will charm her to do it.” 

“You’re not Caleb or Anne or Michael or any of your dozen brothers or sisters." Chloe didn’t step forward to touch her, not when she was thinking of her family. Not when her voice betrayed how on edge she was. “You don’t want to hurt her, you just want to connect to her in the deepest way you can. A way you thought you’d never want to connect with someone.”

Aubrey wrapped her arms around herself as her head dropped forward. “Some nights I lay in bed and focus on the beating of her heart from a floor away. Barely able to be heard or felt even with all my focus. But I manage it, because it’s her and I would move a mountain for her one rock at a time. I’ve known her for just over a year.”

“I am going to hold you now, Aubrey." Chloe whispered before moving forward when she saw her friend barely nod. She came around her and carefully pulled Aubrey into her arms. “Your family is not an easy family to be a member of. Your mother might have turned over a new leaf when she met your father but she had hundreds of years before him to do terrible things and had monstrous children at her side participating in those terrible things. You’ve heard stories of what they have done and know some of it, some of it they would do all over just to see the blood flow and take a taste.”

Aubrey pressed her face against Chloe’s neck, letting the scent of her best friend soothe her as Chloe spelled out things she was unwilling to think herself for the power of them. “It’s too soon for me to feel like this for her. It’s too soon and she is too young and I am stronger than this. I have to be stronger than this for her. More in control.”

“Bree." Chloe pulled back to get Aubrey to lift her head. “She looks as you like you hung stars in the sky and you look at you like if you could have, you would have.” She chuckled softly, wishing her friend would understand these emotions she was feeling could be more than what bound you to people who wanted to use you.

“What if she’s not strong enough to be with someone like me? What if I’m not strong enough to be who she needs? She’s young, Chloe. For a wolf even, she’s young." Aubrey asked, finally unwrapping her arms around herself to wrap them around Chloe. 

“I think she’s strong enough to be the person you can be yourself with.” Chloe lifted a hand to wipe hair out of Aubrey’s face. “And before this year I wasn’t sure if anyone but me would get to see what I see when it’s just us. The silly side and the goofy side and the side that is able to love freely. God, Bree you sat on her lap on Monday night when we all watched a movie together. You giggled when she told a corny joke after. She makes you happy.”

“I have never felt so strongly about someone so quickly." Aubrey admitted. “It scares me. It scares me one day she’ll be in my bed reading because being next to me somehow doesn’t freak her out and I will hum her to sleep just so I can taste her blood, unable to hold back a second longer.”

“Do you honestly think if you wanted to taste her blood she wouldn’t consent?” Chloe could see the fear in Aubrey’s eyes at what she just admitted. 

“I think she would consent to the idea, I worry afterwards she would wish she hadn’t done it." Aubrey couldn’t look into Chloe’s blue eyes. 

“You used your charm on her, didn’t you?” Chloe figured out from the fear she could sense in Aubrey. She had a terrible migraine her freshman year that Aubrey managed to help fix with her humming to put Chloe into a deep sleep. Chloe had to spend months afterward making sure that Aubrey knew she was thankful, not angry. “And then something spooked you in the kitchen. Aubrey.”

“I was giving her a back rub." Aubrey whispered. “And I hummed so she would feel sleepy while I was doing it. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t ask her about it. I just did it.” She hung her head in shame at what she did. 

“Bree." It had always hurt Chloe to see Aubrey like this. In her head about her own being with her family’s history in the background. “Did you tell her that night you used your charm on her?”

“Yes." Aubrey whispered. 

“And how did she react?” Chloe rubbed over her sides. 

“She said, “you made me feel much better”, and tucked some hair behind my ear." Aubrey didn’t look at her. 

“Which made you feel worse." Chloe looked at Aubrey who nodded. “Honey, yes, you should have asked her before using your charm on her. But this isn’t Michael in 1888. You didn’t harm anyone. You didn’t harm her. You wanted to take away some of her pain and give her a back rub.”

“I don’t want to go down that path with her." Aubrey looked into Chloe’s bright blue eyes. 

“Then don’t. Don’t use your charm on her again without talking to her beforehand. You used it, she knows you did and from what you’re telling me she is alright you did. Sometimes you do something wrong and nothing bad happens.” Chloe stroked Aubrey’s cheek. 

Aubrey hugged Chloe tight to her. “Thank you for talking me off of the ledge.”

“You are my best friend in this world." Chloe gave her a smile. “I am always going to be the one talking you off of the ledge and you’re always going to be the one doing that for me. It’s who we are for each other.”

“Do you think I care too much about her already?” Aubrey asked. 

“I think you care about her the amount you do and no one and nothing will diminish those feelings, nor should you try to tamp them down. She has chosen you, I can smell it on her. The same as I can smell it on Beca. It’s barely a change but I know Beca’s scent better than anything and Stacie and I are roommates so I know hers very well too." Chloe gave her a bright smile. 

“What are you smelling that’s different?” Aubrey hadn’t noticed a change in Beca or Stacie’s scents but she wasn’t made to pick up the most subtle changes in their scents. 

“They’re telling every other Alpha, Beta and Zeta in the world they aren’t on the market anymore.” Chloe leaned in, kissing her cheek before pulling back. “They have found who they want to be with.”

Aubrey’s eyes closed as she thought about what Chloe was saying. “How long have you smelled that on Stacie?” It was important that she knew. 

“About a week after hood night." Chloe wasn’t sure what answer Aubrey was looking for but she hoped that was it. “One night we were laying in bed and I breathed in because I thought I was going to sneeze and I noticed it. The next day I noticed it on Beca too.”

“That was before I charmed her.” Aubrey sat down on the end of her bed. Hearing that Stacie had decided, knowing it or not, before she used her charm on her made Aubrey feel like some of the weight on her shoulders had been lightened. 

“See." Chloe sat beside her. “She really, really cares about you. And it’s not anything to do with your charm but with you. Aubrey Posen.” She wrapped her arm around Aubrey, allowing her to lean against her. 

“Thank you." Aubrey whispered, eyes closed. 

“Always." Chloe closed her eyes as they just enjoyed a moment together. “Come on, our girls are going to be worried about us being in here so long.” She stood up, pulling Aubrey with her. 

When they came out of the room, Stacie and Beca were sitting on the couch, waiting for them. 

“Everything alright?” Stacie was the first to ask, looking worried about what happened behind that door. 

“Yes." Aubrey looked at her with a very soft smile. “Chloe and I just needed a minute.” There was no use lying about the peppermint oil at this point. 

“Good." Beca pushed herself off of the couch and walked over to Chloe. “Want to help your favorite girlfriend out with her English homework?”

“I might be able to manage that." Chloe slipped her hand into Beca’s before they walked upstairs. 

Aubrey moved to the couch, sitting against Stacie. She didn’t say anything for a long few moments even after Stacie wrapped her arms around her. 

“I shouldn’t have used my charm on you. And I freaked out a little when you mentioned it in the kitchen. It’s not a big deal for you but it’s a breach of trust for my kind. I am sorry and I won’t let it happen again without asking." Aubrey explained what happened, needing not to keep it private from her. 

“I won’t say it wasn’t a big deal, because it is clearly a big deal to you." Stacie whispered, kissing her temple. “I’ll give you permission if you ask, I trust you even if you don’t always trust yourself.”

Aubrey turned her head, kissing Stacie very softly. “You are too good to know, you know that?”

“I think I’m just good enough, personally." Stacie smiled. 

—————

Upstairs in Beca's bedroom, she didn’t ask Chloe what happened in Aubrey’s bedroom after they had reached her own. If Chloe wanted to tell her then she would, and if she didn’t then Beca wasn’t going to press. 

“Hey you." Chloe shut the door to Beca’s bedroom and turned to pull her into a kiss. Her lips were firm against her girlfriend’s as she felt Beca’s hand reach up and tangle into her hair. 

Beca looked into Chloe’s eyes to make sure she was alright when the kiss broke. When she saw nothing to worry about, she relaxed against her. “Emily is with Benji at some thing. We have some time before they come back.” 

Chloe got a wicked grin at her face at the mention of some much needed time together. “Oh yeah?” She asked, her fingers playing with the ends of Beca’s hair. “What do you want to do to pass the time?”

Beca leaned up to press their lips back together. Kissing Chloe had become as natural as breathing and made her feel the same level of excitement as using her equipment to layer songs. “I like the idea of making out, preferably while we lay on my bed.”

Chloe walked over to the bed, tugging her sweater off as she did. The bright pink bra she had on stood in stark contrast to her skin. 

“Oh, oh yeah, I think we’re going to find a way to pass the time just fine." Beca shed her flannel and tank top, standing at the side of the bed in a black bra. Looking down at Chloe made her eyes darken. 

“Come here." Chloe bit her lip to toy with her just a bit as she held her hand out. 

“Keep taking clothes off and I might." Beca managed to say, trying not to sound like her voice was breaking as she spoke. 

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s waist once she was on the bed. “Tell me if this gets to be too much for you. I don’t want to push you to the point you’re uncomfortable.” She looked into Beca’s eyes, seeing how dark they were and letting out a soft whimper. 

“What you’re making me feel right now isn’t uncomfort." Beca leaned in to kiss her again. The feeling of Chloe’s lips against herself was intoxicating. 

Chloe shifted a little to push Beca’s frame so the Alpha was on her back and Chloe had a hand on either side of her torso. She pulled out of the kiss to shift her head and kiss over her partner’s jaw. “Have I ever told you how much of a turn on it is for me when you let me put you on your back when we make out?”

The flush that had been confined to her cheeks spread down her chest at the mention of her being an Alpha who was flat on her back, pinned down so willingly by her Beta girlfriend. “I like it, you like it, fuck everyone else.”

Chloe bent her head, her hair hanging down like a sheet of motion copper, so she could kiss over the top of Beca’s breasts, her teeth nipping a little before her tongue would poke out to soothe. 

Beca’s hand moved to the back of Chloe’s neck to feel somehow in control while her right hand moved to rest on her partner’s lower back. She and Chloe had gotten this far before but in the month they had been together there were only so many chances to really be alone. But werewolves craved touch and they seemed to feed off of it more than most. 

“Can I?” Beca asked, the hand on Chloe’s lower back sliding up to the back of Chloe’s bra. She wanted this, more than just about anything she had wanted before with Chloe. 

“Yeah, yeah Becs, you can.” Chloe felt her bra being unhooked and moved her arms to take it off before tossing it near her shirt. 

Beca’s eyes were glued to Chloe’s chest before she hooked her leg around them to flip their positions. “I like being on my back for you but right now I have something very important to do that requires you to be on yours.” She leaned up and kissed her as she moved to straddle Chloe’s waist. 

The change in position had caught Chloe slightly by surprise but only for the time it took Beca to flip them. She settled against the mattress and raised one arm to come around Beca’s waist. “You haven’t really gotten to explore touching me the way you want, have you?” She whispered, biting her lip at the hungry expression Beca was giving her. 

“We haven’t been together long enough for me to ask for more than we’ve done.” Beca’s tongue poked out from between her lips. “I didn’t want to rush you or myself just because I dream about your breasts at night.”

Chloe reached for Beca’s favored left hand, kissing her palm before resting it over her left breast. “I am with you because I have feelings for you. I trust you. Touch me because you want to and I am happy to let you.”

At the permission to let herself soak in the touch of Chloe’s warm skin under her hand, Beca’s fingers flexed before she cupped her partner’s breast. Her thumb carefully tracing over a tight nipple. 

“Sometimes when I see you in the morning in just a white tank top, it’s all I can do not to look at your breasts and salivate.”

“Sometimes I wear a white tank top in the morning so you will.”

Beca’s head tilted to confirm the grin in her voice really was all over Chloe’s lips. When she saw it she leaned up to kiss her as her hand worked over her breast. When the kiss broke Beca moved down, this time switching hands and replacing her left hand with her mouth. 

“Oh, oh yes." Chloe moaned out as her hand weaved it’s way in Beca’s hair as she touched her. 

She had touched Chloe before but there was always fabric between them. And the times she had seen Chloe devoid of clothes was right before they transformed when other needs were taking precedent. But right now she had a half naked Chloe under her hand and mouth and Beca had never felt more dominant. 

Which wasn’t to say when Chloe toyed with the clasp on her own bra she didn’t blush like a schoolgirl before agreeing to let Chloe take it off of her. And it wasn’t to say that when Chloe put her back on her back, one of Chloe’s thighs between her legs as they both pressed against each other, skin pressing to skin in ways they hadn’t felt with each other before, that Beca didn’t let out a whimper of frustrated pleasure. 

“You doing alright there, Becs?” Chloe laughed, her voice deeper than usual as her mouth moved to press open mouth kisses over the top of Beca’s breasts. 

“Yes." Beca squeaked out as she tangled her fingers in Chloe’s hair. “Just don’t stop whatever it is you're doing. Please.” She all but begged as Chloe moved her thigh against Beca and her hand and lips worked over her neck and chest.

“Promise I won’t stop until we get you finished." Chloe smirked at the slightly confused look written over Beca’s face. She leaned up to start kissing her neck, biting playfully against her skin as her thigh rubbed just the way she wanted it against her girlfriend. 

Beca touched Chloe but the feeling of being touched by Chloe was making it hard to concentrate as much as she wanted to. But she wouldn’t dare tell Chloe to stop when it felt better than anything she had done to herself before. The bond they shared through the skin to skin contact, only made her more sure of her feelings for Chloe, able to feel the love and affection and the strong dose of passion coming through the connection toward her. 

While Beca expected to feel turned on by this, because dear lord a half naked Chloe Beale on her was more than she expected to get this morning when she woke up in this bed, even if making out as not an uncommon way to spend time together, but what she didn’t expect the was tightness in her belly to let go all at once. She didn’t expect her thighs to tighten around Chloe’s while her body ached against her. 

“Did I…?” Beca questioned Chloe. 

Chloe pulled back, nuzzling Beca’s neck carefully. “Felt like it to me. But honey, you’re the one who would know best of all.”

Beca laid there, panting as her girlfriend curled up against her side. Neither bothering to redress at the moment. 

“Yes, yeah I did.” Beca nodded after a few moments of quiet. 

Chloe trailed her fingers up and down over Beca’s ribs as they laid together. “Did you enjoy it?” Chloe wasn’t sure just what was running through Beca’s head at the moment. 

“Yeah." Beca turned her head to take a look at Chloe. “I really, really did. I just didn’t think it would happen with my jeans on.”

Chloe just smirked. “I am just that good.” She laid her head back down after Beca grabbed a blanket to wrap around them so they wouldn’t need to put anything back on for the moment. 

—————

The last Thursday in September saw the Bellas all in the living room. Thursday nights were often time Bellas hang out night. Friday too many people had dates or parties to go to or wanted to just decompress. Besides no one had any early classes so if they had some fun there wasn’t a 7 am alarm to go off. Tonight they had decided to stay in and figure out a game to play. Alcohol was just assumed to be involved. 

“What are we doing tonight?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

“Truth or dare?” Jessica suggested. 

“That’s less fun when like half of you all are dating though.” Flo pointed out. 

Beca, sitting on Chloe’s lap, opened her mouth to pretest before remembering where she was sitting. “Never have I ever?” She offered.

“Yeah!” Emily grinned. 

“Oh God." Stacie groaned as everyone around her cheered the idea. “Be right back.” She got up and went and took two Advil, she knew she’d be drinking a lot tonight. She came back with a 24 pack of beer that was better than the cheap stuff at parties but not so good they couldn’t afford it. 

“Already ladies.” Stacie started passing the beers out. “Let’s see who has the most fun in their past.”

“The vampires won’t get drunk though.” Flo pointed out. 

“Still fun to play." Jessica smiled from her spot next to Ashley. 

Once everyone had a drink in hand, Cynthia-Rose offered to go first. “Never have I ever smoked pot.” She lifted her drink, taking a long pull. 

“Really?” Chloe asked, watching Beca take a drink with Stacie and Lilly too. 

“I’m from Seattle." Beca chuckled. “I’m surprised you haven’t.”

“I rather drink and dance than get high and chill out." Chloe shrugged, kissing her cheek. 

“Never have I ever learned a foreign language.” Ashley asked, taking her run from the left to Cynthia-Rose. 

“What do you speak?” Stacie asked Aubrey after she took her drink. 

“Je parle couramment le français.” Aubrey smirked at the look of wonderment on Stacie’s face. 

“Spanish." Flo and Ashley said at the same time, sharing a smile.

“Never have I ever given someone a fake phone number.” Jessica offered to the group. 

“Emily Junk!” Beca looked at her like the big sister she had become as her roommate. 

“It was hood night. One of the BU Harmonics was hitting on me and I panicked.” Emily admitted. 

“Which one?” Aubrey, Stacie and Beca all said at the same time. 

“It’s totally fine.” Emily looked at them with wide eyes. “I haven’t seen him since that night. If he bothers me again, I’ll tell you guys.”

“You better.” Beca made a face.

“Never have I ever shot a gun.” Flo said when it was her turn. 

“Why am I not shocked, at all?” Cynthia-Rose laughed at her roommate who just smiled at her. 

“Of course Lilly has shot a gun. But Flo? Aubrey?”

“I’m from the south. Skeet shooting is an art form.” Aubrey explained to the group. 

“My aunt took me to the range when I was a senior. She said I should learn how to for protection. I am a really good shot.” She said with a proud smile. 

“Never have I ever sent semi or full nudes.” Stacie smirked at her question before taking a long gulp of her beer. 

Cynthia-Rose took her drink. “I miss having a girlfriend to send pictures too.” She made a face. 

“Beca Mitchell!” Chloe laughed deeply at her girlfriend after taking her own. “Baby, you totally have to drink. Don’t deny it.”

“Damn it, Chlo.” Beca’s face went bright red at being called out. “Fine, fine.”

“Never have I ever been someone’s one phone call from jail.” Aubrey put forward and was the only person to drink. 

“The problem is that one is none of us have bail money laying around." Stacie snorted. 

“My sister was less interested in me having the money and more in me getting word to our mother without our father finding out right away." Aubrey explained. 

“Alex?” Chloe asked.

“Who else would I answer the phone for?” Aubrey chuckled. 

“Alex is great. Like Aubrey mixed with Laura Croft.” Chloe teased.

“She wishes.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

Chloe took a minute to think about something before going. “Never have I ever been to a strip club.” It was no shock when she, Stacie and Cynthia-Rose all drank. 

“18th birthday party from some friends back home.” Cynthia-Rose grinned. “Happy birthday to me.”

“I spent some time in high school working at one. Waitress not dancer.” Stacie explained.

“Why are none of us surprised?” Cynthia-Rose laughed.

Beca smirked, knowing she was going to get a few people with this one. “Never have I ever gotten in a physical fight.”

Beca herself, Aubrey, Ashley, Stacie, Chloe, Emily, Lilly and Flo all drank.

“Flo, you got into a fight?” Beca asked.

“Someone was picking on my cousin, so I had to step in. It was 11.” Flo explained, taking another drink of her beer.

Lilly looked up when it was her turn. “Never have I ever been in handcuffs.” She said, barely loud enough for the group to be able to hear her before taking her drink. 

Everyone looked to Stacie who rolled her eyes before taking a long drink. She reached over and opened another. 

People were not as prepared for Ashley to take a drink. “I was arrested at a protest. It was for better access to blood for homeless vampires.”

Emily thought for a few long moments when it was her turn. “Never have I ever kissed more than one person in 24 hours.” She finally settled on before taking a small drink. “It was prom and I was tipsy.” She explained. 

“It was not prom but it was high school. Kissing booth.” Jessica laughed. 

“Totally not doing that in college.” Ashley kissed her temple. 

“Why is anyone surprised at this?” Stacie asked when everyone watched her drink. “I’ve kissed more than one person in this room in 24 hours.”

“Wait.” Aubrey looked over at her. “Explained that one to me.”

“Spin the bottle last year, you and Chloe weren’t around. I ended up kissing Beca and Lilly before we changed games.” Stacie explained.

“You never told me that.” Chloe leaned over to kiss Beca. “Who is the better kisser?” She challenged with a smirk. 

“You.” Beca squeaked out. 

“Way to sound convincing, Becs.” Stacie snorted.

They went another two rounds and another dozen beers between them before they all decided they knew enough about each other for the night. 

“Remember everyone.” Aubrey said as they all stood up to clean the living room. “Saturday night is the riff off.”

“We’re going to win this year." Beca said darkly. 

“Yeah we are.” Chloe wrapped her arm around her waist. 

Aubrey slipped next to Stacie as she watched her best friend help her girlfriend to the stairs with her hand on Beca’s ass. “Sleep in my room or brave the two of them in yours?”

“I am never, ever turning down a trip to your room for the night, Bree. Are you going to sleep this time or are you going to stay up all night?” Stacie asked, leaning in to kiss her once they were alone.

“It’s easier for me to let you sleep in my room if I’m not." Aubrey answered, slipping her fingers between Stacie’s. 

“Then stay awake all night and read your book and I’ll sleep beside you." Stacie smiled at her, feeling a sense of happiness wash over her.

Aubrey leaned in for one more kiss before she hit the lights and tugged Stacie to her bedroom for the night. 

—————

Stacie walked down to the basement behind Aubrey. About a half hour away the vampire had gone downstairs to pull out a bag of blood to warm up a bit before she fed from it. 

“We don’t really use the lights down here.” Aubrey explained. 

“My eyesight is as good in the dark as yours.” Stacie reached out in front of her as they walked to the cooler where the blood sat to take her hand. “At least like 90% as good in human form. As good when I’m transformed.”

Aubrey turned, her face turning serious for a moment. “Will you hold the bag, just for a few moments to warm it with your body heat?” She asked, wanting to have a warmer meal than she usually got. 

“Of course.” Stacie held the bag against her chest under her warm grey and black sweater, jeans and boots finishing the outfit out. “I can do that from now on, if you want?” She reached out with her other hand to take Aubrey’s. “I mean, it’s the least I can do while you’re still using blood bags.”

Aubrey laced their fingers together and tightened her grip on Stacie’s hand. “Now and then, it might be nice to have to warm it up.” She admitted. She had been working on trying to be a little more open over the last couple of days. 

“Well, then we’ll figure out a few days a week, that I can come warm it up for you.” Stacie smiled at her. She took in the dark jeans, the yellow of her sweater, the way her hair was in soft waves. She looked good enough to eat. “I like the idea even if we’re not ready to share you feeding on me, I can still be involved.”

Aubrey stepped closer, reaching under Stacie’s sweater to take the blood back. It wasn’t as warm as Stacie but it was far warmer than it normally would be. “If you don’t watch this part, it’s alright. It’s not always easy. Even Chloe has never seen me do this.”

“Turn around.” Stacie said to Aubrey. Once Aubrey had her back to the werewolf, Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey’s waist. “Here, this way I get to wrap you up and you can feed with the warmth around you, alright?” She suggested, prepared to be told no if Aubrey wasn’t comfortable with it. 

Instead of moving out of Stacie’s arms, Aubrey moved deeper inside of them. She leaned against Stacie’s frame, her eyes closed as she felt her fangs drop down. 

Stacie watched as Aubrey brought the bag to her lips, her fangs punctured the bag and soon enough Aubrey was gulping down the blood a mouthful at a time. She felt the beast in her chest howling at the scent of the blood, the brutality of the act, even on a plastic bag, and the scent making her hold Aubrey a bit tighter. She didn’t want to think too hard about the ache that was forming in her lower belly. 

Aubrey tilted her head back, a little blood slipping down from the corners of her mouth to her chin. Her tongue poked out to try and clean her face but it wasn’t able to get it all. 

“Let me." Stacie whispered, turning Aubrey around and looking at her. Her eyes had a golden color to them. She leaned in, her tongue tracing the lines of spilled block, cleaning Aubrey’s face. She might not have the same blood lust as Aubrey but her inner beast wasn’t above cleaning up blood. 

Aubrey opened her eyes when she felt Stacie’s tongue against her skin. “You are always unexpected.” She wrapped her arms around Stacie after tossing the empty bag in the trash. 

“How do you feel after you feed?” Stacie asked, nuzzling at her neck. 

“Like I can think of something other than my hunger for a little while.” Aubrey appreciated the warmth of being in Stacie’s arms as the pair of them held each other but soon she was pulling back. “Let’s go on the date I made you wait too long to take me on.”

Stacie didn’t take that bait instead she just tugged Aubrey to the stairs, walking up before her. After leaving the house, Stacie took Aubrey’s hand again. “So. Here is the deal with the date.” She turned her head as they walked away from Bella House. “I went with a low key idea for our first one. Because we’ve been on a hundred not dates but not not dates already. So I thought I’d try to take my favorite parts of what we have done together and put it all together sounded like a plan.”

Aubrey didn’t really care what they did as long as she and Stacie were together for the next few hours. “I am looking forward to seeing which parts of us spending time together you thought were meaningful.”

The field that the Bellas spent full moons was their destination. Two or three dozen elective candles covered the perimeter of a king size bed sized blanket. Between the candles were flowers in large canisters.

“Orchids, white calla lilies and dahlia?” Aubrey questioned. 

“Do you know anything about flowers?” Stacie asked as they stood on the grass next to the blanket. 

“I know enough to know all the flowers you selected tonight are beautiful and mean something about either love, beautiful or both.” Aubrey leaned up to kiss her before pulling away. She kicked her shoes off before moving to sit on the blanket by a picnic basket. 

Stacie stood on one foot at a time to get her boots off before joining Aubrey on the blanket. 

“Pillows?” Aubrey questioned, seeing two of them off to the side. 

“I thought we could lay together and watch the stars. And if we do that I want some amount of comfort.” Stacie explained before taking her phone out, pairing it to the two speakers she had set up. Soon soft music was playing around them. 

“You really did think this all out.” Aubrey offered an impressed smile. 

“This is our first official date. I wanted to show you that I can think things out and I’m not just all gut feelings and kisses in the kitchen at 2 a.m.” Stacie flipped open the lid on the basket. “I brought real food for me and the hot tea I know you like for you.” 

The first thing she pulled out was a thermos full of tea as hot as she could get it and a mug for Aubrey to drink it out of. She handed them to her before pulling out a bottle of beer for herself. She pulled out a pair of chopsticks and a container of sushi for her dinner. 

“I didn’t know you liked sushi.” Aubrey held a mug of hot tea, both of her hands wrapped around it. 

“I love it.” Stacie laid on her side with the sushi and a little container of soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger beside it. “Have you ever had it before?” She asked as she dipped a piece of a spicy tuna roll before eating it all in one bite.

“There isn’t much human food I have tried that is adventurous. My father was the only person I was around that needed to eat when I was growing up. And I take a bite here and there now but I don’t have a big desire for most human food other than tea.” Aubrey explained.

Stacie chewed on a spider roll as she thought about the answer. “Can I ask a weird question?”

“I think at this point you asking a weird question is something I’ve just accepted about you.” Aubrey teased. 

“If I were to eat something you liked, and you fed from me, would you taste it?” Stacie asked. “I mean I assume not but I know so little about feeding from your point of view.”

“Usually it’s not that detailed. But if you had a lot of alcohol I could taste that or if you were doing drugs I would taste that. But food, not really. Maybe if you had a lot of red meat. But you can’t eat something I do like and have me taste it.” Aubrey grabbed the two pillows to put them down so she could lay on her side and watched Stacie eat. 

“Bummer.” Stacie popped another piece in her mouth, enjoying every bit of it. 

“Indeed.” Aubrey agreed. “But if we get to a point where I’m comfortable feeding form you, I can after you’ve had a few drinks and get to enjoy a buzz. Which has only happened once before.”

“Seriously?” Stacie raised an eyebrow. 

“Alex’s boyfriend offered to let me feed from him after a party one year. Alex was there and made sure I didn’t get too carried away. I was 16.” Aubrey brought the mug to her lips to take a sip.

“So you have fed from a live person before.” Stacie said, carrying about that part of the story more than Aubrey catching a buzz.

“Three. My father when I was 15, it’s a right of passage. Alex’s boyfriend, Kent. And someone at the end of my junior year of high school.” Aubrey nodded as she held tight to the mug.

“Was he important to you?” Stacie asked, wondering if this was why Aubrey was so careful with her.

“She.” Aubrey corrected. “At the time, very. Now? I don’t think about her at all. She wanted to know what a vampire was like and I was too love sick to understand she was using me to get off of having power over me. It was a good lesson to learn, but a hard one at 17.”

Stacie reached her hand out to take Aubrey’s, bringing it to her lips and kissing her knuckles. “You are not someone I’m using to get off because of a power trip. Just for the record. Using you to get off though is still on the table.” The terrible joke made Aubrey laugh and Stacie grinned as her tactic worked. 

“It’s good to know that an 18 year old Alpha who is already a pack leader doesn’t need a vampire at her beck and call to feel powerful.” Aubrey held Stacie’s hand in hers. 

Stacie put everything back in the basket and moved it to the side of the blanket. She shifted until her head was on the pillow next to Aubrey’s, the two women wrapping an arm around the other’s waist as they cuddled. “There were nights I would lay in bed last year and think of what being on a date with Aubrey Posen would be like. I have to admit that the reality of it is much better.”

“Is it now?” Aubrey asked, her hand sliding just under Stacie’s sweater to draw on her skin. “Why is that?”

“In my fantasies I never thought, not even for a night, that when we went on our first date I would already have the feelings I do. Or that you’d reciprocate. I never thought we’d cuddle under a sky full of stars and already I’d know what it felt like to have you against my chest with us just in bras and jeans.” Stacie tilted her head forward until their foreheads rested against each other. “But this? Knowing what kissing you in the dark feels like? Knowing how you push yourself on your runs because I’ve gone with you some nights? Knowing I am sure laying here with you there isn’t a place on earth I rather be? This is better.”

Aubrey shifted a little so she could press more firmly against Stacie with her head tucked under Stacie’s. She closed her eyes as she forced on Stacie’s firm heartbeat. “I don’t need to be with you. I don’t need a romantic relationship in my life. But you’ve made me want one with you. The bond we share, the pleasure I feel when you and I are just near each other. I want that in my life. I want you in my life.”

Stacie held Aubrey tighter at the admission that was perfectly her. “Two more dates and then I am going to ask you to be my girlfriend.” Stacie teased, rubbing under Aubrey’s sweater. The more they touched each other, the more sure she was that they were meant to always be doing so.

“You and I are together, if you ask now, if you ask then. Asking you to wait was me trying to put space between my feelings and how deeply I felt for you.” Aubrey had been the one to make the terms of when Stacie could ask so she felt comfortable changing her mind about it. “You don’t have to ask me to be your girlfriend. We already decided wordlessly to be each other's girlfriend.”

Stacie trailed her hand from Aubrey’s back across her side to splay her fingers out on her ribcage. Her breathing came a little faster than just a few minutes ago. “Glad that’s settled.” She let her thumb stroke against the pale skin she knew was under Aubrey’s sweater. 

“Vampires have broken souls, that’s what the human philosophers think. That our souls are part of a full one, that we’re walking around and looking for another soul that fits in between our jagged edges.” Aubrey’s voice was a bare whisper. “I never believed it. Not for a second. Not even as a kid. Not until the first night we spent alone in the kitchen. Not until you pulled me on your lap and I felt a shift inside of me that I can’t explain.”

“Are you calling me your soulmate?” Stacie asked, her breath caught in her throat. 

“I’m saying that you fill in all the broken parts of me.” Aubrey shifted up, guiding Stacie to her back. “If you want to read into it that I’m calling you my soulmate, you be my guest.”

Stacie, never one to be out of control for long, reached up to slide her hand to the back of Aubrey’s neck. She pulled her down for a kiss, a groan leaving her at the feeling of Aubrey moving on top of her. 

“Aubrey.” Stacie looked up at her, both of her hands sliding to the back of Aubrey’s thighs. “You really sure you want to get on top of an Alpha?” She grinned up at her. 

“What.” Aubrey bent down to press open mouth kisses against Stacie’s jaw. “Are.” She moved her hand under Stacie’s sweater again. “You.” Her nails very lightly started to move over the outline of her abs. “Going.” Her fingers moved up Stacie’s torso to toy with the bottom of her bra. “To.” She slipped a finger just under the band. “Do.” She brought her head back up until they were eye to eye. “About.” She curled her lips into a smirk. “It.”

Stacie was too much of a dominant personality to be challenged like this and not rise up to take the bait. She braced her left hand on the small of Aubrey’s back before flipping them over. She brought the vampire’s hands over her head, pinning them with one hand while the other brought Aubrey’s leg up high on her hip. They really did fit together like they were cut from the same block of marble.

Her teeth were at Aubrey’s throat, nipping lightly before her mouth moved to the space that if the roles were reversed the vampire would be biting down on Stacie. “Never, ever, doubt me to rise to the challenge when you make it in such captivating terms.” 

Aubrey felt Stacie bit against her neck in a place she had often kissed on Stacie’s neck in her weaker moments. She arched against her, unable to control her own reaction. “I could break away from you. Your untransformed self isn’t as strong as I am. I could pin you down, make you be the one being toyed with.”

Stacie pressed down a little harder against Aubrey. “You aren’t enjoying the feeling of your current position?” She questioned with a smirk in her voice. “The feeling of your legs wrapped around me, of my hand pinning your arms down, of my lips against your throat?” 

Aubrey thought about flipping them to remind Stacie she didn’t have total control here. What was the use though when she knew between the two of them that she rather be the one pinned against the blanket? “Oh, I am enjoying it very much. But I do want you to keep in mind that you have the upper hand right now because I allow you to have it.” To prove her point she broke Stacie’s hold on her wrists before laying her arms back for Stacie to pin her again. 

Stacie held tighter but knew Aubrey was right. She was allowing Stacie to dominate. Something about it was intoxicating. The feeling of knowing they each had their roles and the terms were agreed on the moment Aubrey put her arms down for her to pin again. “You are going to be a challenge our whole relationship, aren’t you?” 

Aubrey laughed as she tilted her head to give Stacie better access to her neck. “And you won’t be?”

“Of course I would. You wouldn’t enjoy me nearing as much if I didn’t challenge you.” Stacie bite down just a little on Aubrey’s neck. She breathed in to catch as much of Aubrey’s scent in the moment as she could. Feeling a warmth spread through her caught wind of her arousal. “The scent of you this turned on while being under me is going to live in my brain for a very long time.”

Aubrey tugged one of her hands free, not breaking the hold but requesting. When her right hand was freed it moved to the back of Stacie’s neck, it’s current favorite resting place. “My brain too.” She breathed in to catch the scent, a growl leaving her lips.

Stacie lifted her head to kiss Aubrey at the sound of the growl. The kiss deepened quickly as another battle for dominance happened between the two. Again Stacie won out, this time not carrying to know if she won or if Aubrey conceded for her benefit. 

“Baby.” Stacie whimpered as she felt Aubrey’s nails against her neck. Her own hand moved under Aubrey’s sweater to cup her left breast, her fingers rolling against it. “You fit against my hand like they were made with each other in mind.” She laughed against the kiss, shifting just enough to give her hand more room to work with.

“Maybe they were.” Aubrey leaned forward as much as she could to kiss Stacie. The longer they kissed and the longer she was pinned the harder it was to remind herself they should stop. Because they had to. Even if this wasn’t their first date and even if she was ready to have sex with Stacie - an idea that was becoming more attractive with each passing moment - she was unwilling to have their first time in a field. 

Stacie felt the slight hesitation through the bond they shared. It was just around the edges of the desire she had been feeling up until this point. She reached up to where Aubrey’s leg was on her hip and slowly guided it down. She kissed her, chaste and quick, she took a moment or two to get herself under control before rolling them back over. 

“We didn’t need to stop right then.” Aubrey rested her head against Stacie’s chest to hear her heart beating as strong as ever. Faster than usual too. 

“I needed to stop or I was going to take your sweater and bra off and then your jeans and then whatever might or might not be under them and have my way with you until morning.” Stacie groaned.

Aubrey moved her hand to Stacie’s side under her sweater. Just wanting to comfort her, calm her, remind her she was feeling the same way. “Is this the longest you’ve gone without sex?”

Stacie slipped her hand back to Aubrey’s lower back under the yellow material. “At least the longest since I was a junior in high school, yeah.” She admitted because lying to Aubrey just never occurred to her. 

“Sex, feeding, biting, they are all linked together.” Aubrey sighed. “I want to be at a place we’re both alright with you being bitten in the middle if it happens.”

“Is bitting during sex … would you feed during that?” Stacie asked as she tried to figure out how it worked.

“No, it would be a dry bite. Penetration for the sake of claiming you as mine.” Aubrey explained.

“Not a good enough reason to use the word penetration.” Stacie shifted a little. 

“Do you have other questions?” Aubrey asked, the slight breeze in the air, the way Stacie was holding her so well, the way her heartbeat was firm under Aubrey’s ear made her more willing to answer questions. 

“If you were to start feeding from me, would that be the same as me marking your shoulder?” Stacie asked. 

“No.” Aubrey shook her head. “You making my shoulder is a sign we’re mates. That we’re together. Me feeding on you is a sign that you’re under my protection. But there are humans who like just being bitten so they are a feeding source. There are no automatic romantic connections drawn.”

“Do you have something like our marking shoulders?” Stacie questioned. 

“We do. A bite to your left wrist, a slash across mine and our blood flowing together.” Aubrey closed her eyes and held herself still. “It’s forever, Stacie. There is nothing that can break that bond but death. And it’s a deep bond, there is our version of your touch empathy. There is anti aging with it. There are other things that. Yes, there is a way for me to mark you but right now I’m not sure I can talk about it with you. It’s a beastly thing to do to someone.”

Stacie rubbed long strokes down Aubrey’s back. “Then we won’t talk about it. Not until the two of us are both ready.”

“Thank you.” Aubrey whispered.

“I like to push your boundaries. I do not ever want to break them.” Stacie whispered. 

“I’ve really enjoyed this.” Aubrey shifted off of Stacie to sit on the blanket. 

“Are you telling me the date is over?” Stacie pouted. 

“It’s nearly one in the morning and tomorrow night is the riff off. I need you well rested and ready to go.” Aubrey had big plans for the riff off. 

“Is me flirting for the songs that make sense on the table?” Stacie asked as she stood up and held Aubrey’s hand. 

“That is one of my five bullet points to go over with everyone before tomorrow.” Aubrey laughed. 

“Great.” Stacie grinned. “Don’t worry about the stuff. I was owed a favor from someone in my Chem 207 class. He’s going to come clean it up. He’s who helped get it set up.”

“How much did he hit on you while you were setting it up?” Aubrey slipped her hand into Stacie’s as they walked back. 

“He’s got a girlfriend that he is so hung up on that even if I wanted to, I am not sure even the Hunter would get his attention.” Stacie swung their arms a bit as they walked back home. 

“I can’t deny having the Hunter only focused on me is a rather compelling reason to get over my doubts about biting you.” Aubrey admitted. “If you are half as good as your reputation is, I will be very lucky.”

“Oh trust me, I am that good.” Stacie didn’t have a problem with her reputation being what it was. She had sex, she enjoyed sex, if people had a problem with it, it wasn’t her hang up to deal with. Aubrey being alright with her past was her only question and now it was answered. 

When they reached the house Stacie unlocked the door before letting them both in. 

“Have you had sex with a woman before Aubrey?” Stacie asked after locking the door again and gathering Aubrey in her arms. She couldn’t go to bed without leaving one final impression on Aubrey. 

“No.” Aubrey’s eyes were on Stacie’s mouth. “I haven’t. You would be the first.” Her jaw tightened at the pleased look at Stacie’s face so she didn’t let out a groan. 

“You’ll be good at it. Long fingers, a flair for performance, an ability to read body language. Plus the fact that you have always gotten me half way home by just kissing me, pulling back and biting your lip. So a lot of the work is done for you.” Stacie whispered before moving her hand down to rest on Aubrey’s ass. 

Aubrey wanted to leave Stacie with an impression of her own before they parted for the night. She leaned in until her lips were right against Stacie’s ear. “The next time you’re alone and need something to think about, I want you to think of me. Under you, hands pinned, you and I wearing nothing but a smirk, my lips pressing a kiss to your neck before your fingers and my fangs sliding inside of where they want to be at the same time. Goodnight, Stace. It was a lovely first date.” She whispered in a slightly husky voice before pulling out of a stunned Stacie’s arms and walking away. 

Stacie stood there in stunned silence at the words Aubrey used and the tone of her voice as she used them.

“I am so fucked.” Stacie groaned as she headed to the shower. She needed some alone time after Aubrey decided to show Stacie her own dominant side. 

—————

The fall riff off between the four a cappella groups on campus was one of Chloe’s favorite nights of the year. It was half party, half battle and a whole lot of fun. 

“Alright everyone.” Chloe looked around as the Bellas all stood in the living room at Bella House. “Just remember to have fun, pay attention to the word you’re using and go big or we all go home.”

“Everyone put your hands in.” Aubrey extended her hand out as the others followed suit. 

“On three or after three?” Stacie asked, never able to remember what it was. 

“On three.” Aubrey smiled at her as she counted off. 

“Ahhh.” The group managed it fairly well, though not as well as Aubrey would have liked. “Close enough for tonight.”

The group all walked outside to head over to the pool where the riff off would happen. Aubrey locked the door, testing it before her hand slipped in Stacie’s. After last night she was prepared to be more public about how things were between them. Or at least prepared to hold her hand in public.

“So." Chloe looked over at Beca. “Jesse is going to be there tonight. Want to have a little bit of fun with him?” She smirked. 

“What do you have in mind?” Beca couldn’t keep the smirk off her lips. She didn’t hate Jesse but she also wasn’t a big fan of how he acted about her nature. 

“We can dance real close while we’re singing.” Chloe held Beca’s hand as they walked. 

“I love how your mind works.” Beca bumped her hip with her own.

Before they walked down into the empty pool, Aubrey gathered the team again. She wanted to give them their final marching orders before they headed down to face the other three groups. 

“If you have a song that comes to mind, just go for it.” She told the group. “If you don’t follow the lead of whoever does. We are going to win this thing if we all do our jobs.” She looked around to each of them with a confident smile. 

“We’re going to win and then we’re going to party.” Ashley spoke up. 

“Yeah we are.” Stacie grinned.

“Come on everyone, let’s go.” Chloe tugged Beca forward which spurred everyone else to move with them. 

The Bellas all gathered together at the bottom of the pool, everyone ready to take on the other teams. 

The Treblemakers were standing in the deepest part of the pool, all looking around with smug smirks on their face. It had been three years since anyone beat them. 

The BU Harmonics were across from the Bellas, looking like they were casually optimistic. One of the girls Alice picked on mercilessly the year before ditched the Bellas to join the Harmonics. She pretended not to see when Chloe waved at her. 

The High Notes were all sitting in the middle of the pool, living up to their name by the looks of it. 

Benji made a break for it as Justin and someone from the Harmonics talked about something. He tapped Emily on the shoulder, holding out his hand with a wrapped piece of her favorite chocolate in the palm. 

“I thought I’d wish you good luck.” Benji said, knowing all of the Bellas would be looking at him if he looked up at them. 

“Thank you.” Emily’s grin was bright even in the oddly lit pool. “Good luck to you too.” She leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. “Afterwards we can hang out right?

“Yeah, yeah I’d really like that.” Benji felt his whole face redden. 

“Should we have a bet going on who is going to win?” Emily asked. 

“If we win, you have to sing “I’m a little teapot” in the quad tomorrow. And if we win I have to cook the Bellas breakfast tomorrow.” Benji said after a pause. There would be almost no one around on a Sunday, he knew he was letting her off easy. 

“Deal.” Emily kissed him one more time before sending him back to his group.

“You two are so cute together.” Jessica sighed, her arm wrapped around Ashley’s waist. “Aren’t they, honey?”

“They are really, really cute.” Ashley smiled, turning her head to kiss her girlfriend. “Almost as cute as you.”

“We’re surrounded.” Cynthia-Rose groaned. 

“It’s sweet.” Flo smiled as she looked around. “Love is beautiful.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Cynthia-Rose laughed after Lilly nudged her. 

The group all turned around as a horn blasted and Justin stepped out in the middle of the groups. Students lined the top of the pool and the space behind the a capella groups too. It was a huge turn out this year. 

“Welcome to the riff off!” Justin called as everyone went wild. “Who is ready to get vocal?” He asked with a wide grin on his face. “The winners get the glory of victory while the losers have to go home and cry into their pillows.”

He pointed his phone to the side of the pool, a magnifier on it so the spinning wheel was visible. “First category is… Disney songs!”

Before anyone else could move Lilly was already starting the beat for “A Whole New World” which the rest all grinned when Beca started to sing. 

“I can show you the world / Shining, shimmering, splendid / Tell me, princess, now when did / You last let your heart decide? / I can open your eyes / Take you wonder by wonder / Over, sideways and under / On a magic carpet ride / A” Beca sang loudly, her eyes on Chloe as she moved away from the group, a smile on her lips as Chloe’s eyes lit up. 

Jesse and the other Treblemakers all turned to each other before Jesse smirked and cut Beca off on “A”. He was not a fan of seeing Beca singing to someone else when his friends all knew they had been together. 

“A shining new era / Is tiptoeing nearer / And where do we feature? / Just listen to teacher / I know it sounds sordid / But you'll be rewarded / When at last I am given my dues / And injustice deliciously squared / Be prepared!” Jesse stepped half way between the Bellas and the Treblemakers as he took over. 

Soon enough the other Treblemakers gathered round him, backing him up as he showed off a little bit. 

“Him playing the villain fits.” Chloe said dryly. 

“It's great that we'll soon be connected / With a king who'll be all-time adored / Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected / To take certain duties on board / The future is littered with prizes / And though I'm the main addressee / The point that I” Before any of the Bellas could cut him off, the Harmonics did it for them. 

Barb stepped forward to cut Jesse off on the “I”. 

“I won't say I'm in love / I thought my heart had learned its lesson / It feels so good when you start out / My head is screaming "Get a grip girl / Unless you're dying to cry your heart out.”

The rest of the Harmonics step forward, dancing to the music they were making. 

“Girl you can't deny it / Who you are is how you're feeling / Baby we're not buying / Hon we saw you hit the ceiling / Face it.”

One of the members of the High Notes cut in, not bothering to get to her feet. “It means no worries / For the rest of your days”

“Yeah, sing it, kid!” A boy said with his head in her lap. Before she could go on she was caught with a case of the giggles and started kissing him instead of signing. 

“The effects of medical grade marijuana, ladies and gents.” Justine said as everyone yelled on his count, “You are CUT OFF.”

Justine again pointed his phone at the side of the pool. “The next category is … songs about sex.”

Before anyone else in the pool could make a sound, Cynthia-Rose was already starting “S&M”.

Stacie leaned in and kissed Aubrey’s cheek, whispering in her ear. “'Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it. Just enjoy the show, baby.” She kissed her jaw before moving down to where Cynthia-Rose was, right in front of the Treblemakers. 

“Feels so good being bad / There’s no way I'm turning back / Now the pain is for pleasure / ‘Cause nothing can measure / Love is great, love is fine / Out the box, out of line / The affliction of the feeling leaves me wanting more.” Cynthia-Rose said like she had written the words herself. 

Stacie and she started to dance together, moving against the beat the other Bellas were laying down for them. 

“'Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it / Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it / Sticks and stones may break my bones / But chains and whips excite me.” Stacie started taking over as she stood up straight and waved at Donald when he stepped up to her. “'Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it / Sex”

“Sex, baby / Let’s talk about you and me” Donald cut Stacie off, leaving her standing alone as Cynthia-Rose headed back to the Bellas. 

Stacie wasn’t one to back down though. She crossed her arms over her chest as she thought about what the next move should be. 

“Let's talk about all the good things / And the bad things that may be / Let’s talk about sex / Ladies, all” Donald sang while the other Trebles backed him up. 

When Aubrey came to get her, Stacie just turned her head and kissed her before turning back to the Treblemakers. 

“All through the night / I’ll make love to you / When you want me to” Stacie cut him off, a smirk on her lips. 

The other Bellas moved around Stacie as they carried on, all of them finding the Trebles speechless a win for the moment. 

“And I will not let go / Till you tell me to / Girl relax, let's go slow / I ain't got nowhere to go / I’m just gonna concentrate on you / Girl are you ready? / It's gonna be a long night / Throw your clothes on the floor / Not I'll make love to you” 

Harmonics cut in again before the Bellas could close out the song. 

“I'll take you there / It’s like a dream to me / Just like a prayer, I'll take you there / It’s like a dream to me / Just like a prayer, I'll take you there / It’s like a dream to me / Just like a prayer, I'll take you there / It’s like a dream to me”

Aubrey was already talking to Justin. “They matched “I’ll” not “throw”. I am happy to look up the lyrics for you if you need to show you where we were in the song.” 

“No, no, Posen. You’re right.” Justin turned to the Harmonics and said in a sad voice. “You have been cut off.”

The Bellas and the Treblemakers both gathered with their teams. It was one on one now and neither of them wanted to give an inch. 

“Whatever the category, just go with someone and we’ll figure it out on the fly.” Jesse said to the group. “We can’t let the Bellas have the upper hand as they head into Regionals.” 

“And the category is." Justin pointed his phone at the pool wall. “Breakup songs!”

“Oh HELL yes.” Beca smirked. 

Before any of the Bellas could move the Trebles were already singing. 

“You can't crash my party with your 'Sorry's and 'What Are We’s / Don’t start rainin' on my Mardi Gras parade for a minute” Jesse sang with a smug look on his lips. 

“I ain't even fixin' to listen to your guilt trippin’ / You’re forgettin' girl you made your bed and didn't want me in it / Woah girl, simmer on down a notch / Ain’t nobody making you watch me get my forget you on / No girl, can't touch my good as gold / I know it's difficult to see me on a roll / But hey, you”

The longer this was going on the more annoyed Chloe was with her girlfriend's ex. 

“You come around again and say / "Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me” / Remember how that lasted for a day?” Chloe started, breaking into the Trebles song. 

Beca took her hand before dropping it to step forward. 

“I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you / We called it off again last night / This time I'm telling you, I'm telling you / We are never ever, ever getting back together / We are never ever, ever getting back together” Beca sang as Chloe wrapped her arms around her from behind, the other Bellas filling in around them. 

“You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me / But we are never ever, ever, ever getting back together / Like, ever”

Jesse frowned at them. The other Trebles were trying to think of a song to cut in with while Benji just shot a worried look at Emily who gave him a soft smile back. 

“I'm really gonna miss you picking fights / And me, falling for it screaming that I'm right And you, would hide away and”

The Treblemakers pulled Jesse back, Uni whispering to him before he stepped forward and grinned. 

“And I was like, uh / Why? (Uh) Why? (Uh) Why, lady? / Oh, I love you / Oh, I still love you, oh / I see you driving 'round town with the girl I love/ “Fuck you" (ooh, ooh, ooh) / I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough”

Jesse knew he just needed to finish off the last line and they would manage the win.

Chloe was not about to let that happen. She tugged Beca close and dipped her in front of all assembled as she laid a kiss on her that had Beca grabbing her shoulders to keep her balance. 

“I'm like, "Fuck you Chloe.” He growled, already knowing he lost it as his shoulders slumped. 

The Bellas all cheered as Justin proclaimed them the winners of the riff off. 

“We freaking did it.” Beca laughed deeply as she was put back on her feet. 

“Thanks to Chloe making out with you, yeah.” Stacie grinned. 

Beca just smirked before turning her head and letting out a loud howl that saw all the werewolves, her pack and the others from the Harmonics, High Notes and just those who came to watch join in on. 

“Hi.” Emily smiled at Benji when he came over to them. 

“Hey.” Benji looked shyly at the Bellas. “Good job. Seriously, you ladies sounded great.”

“Thanks Benji.” Chloe smiled back. 

“Can he come hang out with us?” Emily asked Aubrey, knowing for something like this it was the captain of the Bellas to decide, not her pack leaders. 

Aubrey thought about it, sizing him up and down before giving a nod. “Alright. But first floor only, yeah?” She gave Emily a look. 

“Totally.” Emily grinned with a face that looked more like a tomato. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” Benji promised as his hand tangled with Emily’s. 

“You better be.” Beca and Stacie said at the same time.

Benji looked a little nervous before Emily leaned up to give him a quick kiss. “Don’t worry, Benji. I’ll protect you.” 

The Bellas and Benji moved out after that, heading back to the Bella House for some drinks and maybe a few more songs sung before the end of the night. 


	5. Ties that Bind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. Here is another chapter of VWPP. 
> 
> Small warming there is a not great word used - slur - in one scene in the pit stop they make on their way to South Carolina. Just a heads up.
> 
> Things are very much going to be ramping up from here. Also, there is some smut. So be warned. I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Again thank you G for betaing this for me.

Just over two months into the semester, Chloe knocked on Aubrey’s open door three days before they were set to leave for the ICCA’s Regionals. This year it would be held at Carolina University, a five hour drive away. 

“Hey, I just confirmed the hotel reservations. We have five rooms, two beds each. We have to decide how we want to split things up.” Chloe entered after Aubrey looked up at her. 

“You’re right.” Aubrey made a bit of a face. It was rare that their relationship statuses came up inside of the Bellas in a real way. 

“If we let Jess and Ashley room together it’s not fair that Beca and I or you and Stacie shouldn’t. But is that fair to Emily, Cynthia-Rose, Lilly or Flo?” Chloe bit her lip, unable to figure out what they should do. 

“Rooming Ashley and Jessica makes sense even if they weren’t dating. They have never had to share a room with a werewolf before. And speaking from personal experience it can be an issue if you aren’t prepared for it.” Aubrey explained. “Vampires need space to retreat to. Even I need some space away from all of you at times and I lived with you in a dorm room.”

“Right.” Chloe sighed. 

Aubrey reached across the space between the chair she was sitting in and her bed which Chloe was sitting on. “And we both want our partners there, because it’s nice to have them in important moments.”

“Beca calms me down, I calm her down. It will be nice to have a room with just her and not have to kick anyone out.” Chloe held Aubrey’s hand a moment. 

“Maybe we make up rooms if the four who aren’t dating another Bellas are ok with it and we have a backup plan if they are uncomfortable?” Aubrey offered. If the unattached Bellas weren’t sure about them all rooming together it would be a good idea not to be caught flat footed. 

“That’s a good idea.” Chloe didn’t want to make her pack-mates uncomfortable but she also really wanted to be with Beca. 

“So Stacie and me, you and Beca, Jess and Ashley, Lilly and Cynthia-Rose, Emily and Flo if they are alright with couples sharing and Stacie and Jessica, you and me, Lilly and Cynthia-Rose, Emily and Flo and Ashley and Beca?” Aubrey suggested after thinking of the natural pairs for a moment.

“Awe, Bree you want to share a room with me if we can’t share with our girlfriends?” Chloe smiled at her best friend.

“I know I can share with you and you sleep like the dead so if I’m awake all night I won’t bother you. Besides I know you and you will cuddle with me the night before a performance. It’s soothing.” Aubrey admitted.

“You will always be my favorite vampire.” Chloe grinned. 

“I better be.” Aubrey snorted but gave her best friend a warm smile. 

“Yeah but, you would prefer to share a room with Stacie than me, that’s new for you.” Chloe pointed out. “I mean in terms of a willingness to sleep next to someone you’re seeing.”

Aubrey leaned back in her chair, her head ducked to hide the grin she knew was too wide. Thinking about Stacie had brought it on more than a few times in the last month of them adding a formal label to their relationship. “She makes me far more fearless than I’ve ever felt before.”

“You’ve fallen hard for her Bree.” Chloe was happy for her friend, so happy, because Aubrey deserved someone who loved her and someone she could love. 

“I have.” Aubrey looked at Chloe, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I think by Christmas, or even Thanksgiving, I might be ready to feed from her. She warms my blood for me almost every night now and holds me while I feed and it’s nice to have that with someone. She has just fit into parts of me, parts of my life, I never dreamed she could.” 

“We need to go on a double date.” Chloe had tried to make that happen for years. “It would be really fun.”

“After we win Regionals we can plan something. I promise.” Aubrey had never, ever, agreed to a double date with Chloe before. But the idea of getting to spend time around another couple doing something as simple and fun as a double date made part of her warm up. 

“Seriously?” Chloe’s eyes lit up. “I can’t believe you said yes.” She moved from the bed to hug Aubrey as she sat in the chair. 

“I live to please the werewolves in my life.” Aubrey hugged her back, kissing her cheek like she always did when Chloe bear hugged her. 

“We should go get dinner started. Most of us are going to be here tonight. We’re just missing Beca to a late shift at the radio station and Jessica to her astronomy lab.”

Aubrey stood up, taking a hairband off of her wrist and tied her hair back with it. Right over where Aubrey’s pulse point would be was a mark that was faded but still had clear edges to it. 

“Bree.” Chloe’s eyes went wide at the sight of the mark on Aubrey’s neck.

“Yes, it’s what you think it is and yes I am ok with it.” Aubrey said when she saw Chloe's reaction to the love bite on her neck. Stacie had given it to her less than a week ago in the middle of both of them needing a study break. 

“Marking someone like that is a driven thing. It’s a powerful urge when you’re really connected to someone. You being ok with it and you showing it off is more than I expected.” Chloe beamed at her friend. 

“Stacie touches it when we are laying down together when she sleeps down here.” Aubrey gave her best friend a look. “You know how often that happens, because you are the one kicking her out of her room so you can sleep with Beca.” 

“Hey!” Chloe held her hands up. “She said she was cool with Beca sleeping in my bed, and honestly all we do is sleep most nights. You are underestimating how much she likes to sleep in your room.”

“Maybe.” Aubrey started to think about it as they left her room to head to the kitchen. 

Emily and Benji were sitting together on the couch quizzing each other for their math class while Flo on the other end worked on an English quiz. 

“Hey guys, quick question.” Chloe stopped in front of the couch while Aubrey made her way to the kitchen. “For the trip to Regionals, what are your thoughts on Beca and me, Aubrey and Stacie and Jessica and Ashley sharing rooms?”

“I mean I kind of assumed you would be?” Emily said, tilting her head. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“You all do it here, why would we mind for an event?” Flo asked, looking up from her work. 

“Yeah?” Chloe smiled. 

“It’s not like you guys exclude the rest of us. We’re still a team, a pack. We’re going to all hang out in one or two of the rooms most of the time anyway, right?” Emily said with a hopeful smile. 

“Of course, Em.” Chloe smiled. “Thanks guys. We just didn’t want it to be awkward or anything.” 

Flo smiled before returning to her work while Emily and Benji went back to quizzing each other. Chloe took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen to help Aubrey with dinner. 

“Two down, two to go and I can’t see either objecting.” Chloe smiled when she walked into the kitchen. 

“Stacie and Beca will be happy. I can’t see either Alpha really being alright with not getting to room where they want. Even if they would put on a fake smile about it.” Aubrey pointed out as she started pulling everything out for a big pan of ziti. “The week before the full moon they are always a little extra aggressive too.”

Chloe gave a smirk as she grabbed some onions and garlic to start getting them ready to turn into a sauce while Aubrey started to cut up the tomatoes. “How have you found it, dating a werewolf?” She asked as they worked.

“Honestly? Being your best friend for so long prepared me a lot more than I expected.” Aubrey said. “She wants to be touching all the time, which I have gotten much more comfortable with this quickly because that’s how you are. Her wanting to be there for my feedings and some of my late night runs means a lot to me too.” 

“And the more physical stuff?” Chloe knew Aubrey was private but it wouldn’t be the first time in their friendship they talked like this. “I can smell it on her and I can smell her on you.”

“It’s really, really great.” Aubrey admitted. “It’s somewhat more limited than I think she would like. It’s more limited than I know I want. But as much as biting and marking is part of your urges when being physical, it’s a huge part of mine. And holding back until I am sure I can either control myself or we’re at a place I don’t have to.” She added onions and garlic Chloe cut up to the pot she had on the stove. “But it’s getting more and more difficult to stop myself.”

“Walk me through the fears about biting her or feeding from her at this point?” Chloe asked, wanting to be a sounding board for her friend. 

“I don’t want to learn to depend on her for feeding, and have her leave. Either because my family are like they are or because I do something that pushes her away or because she’s only 18 and she isn’t sure what she wants yet.” Aubrey admitted. 

“Wolves, we’re fast. All gut reaction and feeling each other out. Beca and I are going to be marked by Christmas, maybe Thanksgiving, maybe tomorrow. I don’t know but it’ll be soon. Because I can’t look at her and not think about it and I know she wants it too when she runs her fingers over the spot she’d mark on my shoulder. But you, vampires? You guys can take years to progress to what you and Stacie already have. I know you, I know how hard you fight against needing anyone. But you and her? You would already be crushed if she walked away. Biting or not, you’re in this deep.” Chloe kept her voice soft to keep this conversation between them.

Marking for werewolves in the modern era was complicated. Oftentimes it was used simply as “this is my mate”. Which didn’t have so much a human equivalent really. Oftentimes it was said to be between dating and married depending on the couple. In any case, there was weight to it. 

Aubrey stirred the onions and garlic before adding the tomatoes. She thought about what Chloe said, nodding before speaking. “I don’t know if I will ever forget her. Even if all we have is what we’ve already had.”

Chloe came up behind Aubrey and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I think you might be in love with her, Aubrey.” She rested her cheek against Aubrey’s back. It was a position they had shared hundreds of times before.

“I don’t think there is a might there anymore, Chloe.” Aubrey leaned back against her a little bit. 

“I love you too.” Chloe said as she untangled from Aubrey when she heard Stacie’s motorcycle coming down the road. “Happy looks good on you. It looks good on Stacie too.”

“I haven’t been this happy since I was a kid.” Aubrey admitted. 

Stacie walked in through the back door. She could smell the food cooking and had a good idea who was cooking it from their scent mixed in with the food. Her helmet was set down followed by her jacket coming off and getting hung up. 

“What kind of pasta are you making tonight?” Stacie asked, as her arms went around Aubrey’s waist, kissing her hello when Aubrey turned her head. 

“Ziti.” Aubrey answered, leaning fully back against Stacie to soak up the warmth that always came with being in Stacie’s arms. “Thought it would be good since most of us are in and out tomorrow. So they can eat the leftovers when they want and it’s easy to heat up.”

“So very thoughtful.” Stacie kissed her neck, right over the mark she made. She turned her head to smile at Chloe. “How’s everything tonight?”

‘Good. Benji and Emily are studying together and Flo is working on homework. Everyone else is in their rooms. Beca and Jess are out.” Chloe gave her a status report of sorts. Something that just naturally happened at night. 

“Benji is starting to be here as much as the rest of us.” Stacie turned her head back and rested her chin on Aubrey’s shoulder. “You ever going to let him go up to Emily’s room?”

“No.” Aubrey said firmly. “There are some rules I’m not willing to break. I let him on the first floor and if they want to use a bedroom, they can use his.”

“Baby.” Stacie said seriously. “I rather have her here where I know she’s ok than at the Treble house.” 

Aubrey stopped stirring for a moment. “I hate when you make a good point about something I really, really do not like.”

“I know. But you know I’m right. So if she ever asks, just think about her as the only Bella in the Trebles lair.” Stacie pulled back to go grab a drink from the fridge. 

“Annoyingly right is sort of a hallmark of yours.” Aubrey turned, rolling her eyes as she watched Stacie pull out three beers from the fridge. “You know those are mine, right?”

“Yup.” Stacie popped the top on each of them before handing one to Chloe and one to Aubrey. “And you don’t get to enjoy the full effects of them so I thought it would be nice of you to share with those who can.”

“Is that so?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“Yup.” Stacie popped the p before she leaned in to give her a kiss. “I already gave you money for another six pack of it anyway. Because I’m a giver.” She stepped up to Aubrey, arm around her waist. 

“That, you are.” Aubrey put one of her arms around Stacie’s waist to pull her in. 

Chloe was amused watching Stacie and Aubrey together as they acted like there was no one else in a five mile range of them. The Beta had spent a lot of time worried Aubrey would never open up to someone else, but watching them together those fears started to fade. 

“Finish dinner.” Stacie bent her head to kiss over the mark on her neck. “Then I can take you downstairs and wrap you up while you feed. I know you breathe in right before you do baby. So you can smell me before you bite down.”

“Stacie.” Aubrey leaned into her a little more. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. 

“Sure you don’t.” Stacie kissed her neck again. “Finish up dinner for me. I worked up an appetite today.” She pulled away from Aubrey to take a seat at the kitchen table, her long legs up in another chair. 

“Yes dear.” Aubrey rolled her eyes. 

The quick tomato sauce was finished in the next half hour while the pasta was put on to boil. Chloe and Aubrey worked well as a team to feed their pack while Stacie sat at the table and watched. She could cook, well too, but she didn’t want to step in and mess up the flow of the two elder Bellas. 

The Bellas and Benji sat around the table. One of the plus sides of having Benji here is they couldn’t really talk about their sets. So it gave them some freedom not to talk set-list or choreography so much. 

“I know we’re not staying in the same hotel. But maybe the morning of, we could have breakfast or coffee?” Benji asked as he pulled Emily’s chair out. 

Emily looked at Aubrey and grinned back at Benji when she nodded. “I’d love to.” She kissed his cheek once he sat down. 

“You’re giving us free time in the morning?” Ashley asked, sitting in her usual spot at the far end of the table. 

“I thought it would be nice, to have all of us more relaxed.” Aubrey explained as she watched all of the others pile food on their plates. “Besides, Stacie is not a morning person and if I plan anything too early I am the one who suffers.”

Stacie rolled her eyes from her spot next to Aubrey. Her hand slipped under the table to draw patterns against her thigh. “You have some of the best powers of persuasion that I know, Bree.”

“It’s good that you’re sharing rooms. So none of us have to hear this mushy stuff while you’re saying goodnight to each other in the doorways.” Cynthia-Rose laughed. 

“It’s kinda cute though.” Flo smiled. “So much happiness in this house.”

“It’s really sweet.” Emily beamed as at the end of the table where Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe were. “It reminds me of my parents.”

“Watch it, Legacy.” Stacie let out a deep laugh. “I’m not domesticated yet.”

Everyone at the table, including Benji, started to laugh at the comment. They all shared looks with each other before looking at Stacie. 

“You and the Hunter are totally tamed.” Cynthia-Rose told her. 

Stacie opened her mouth to protest before she slowly shut it as she sat back against her chair. She was, wasn’t she? She was with someone exclusively. She spent most of her nights on school work or hanging out with Aubrey or the other Bellas. She went to parties but with Aubrey instead of to find some nameless to grind on. She hadn’t had sex in months because they were waiting. 

And yet? 

She was happier than she had been when it came to romantic relationships. She felt good, she felt settled. The Bellas, their pack, her relationships were all making the rest of her life that much easier. 

“There are worse things I could be.” Stacie finally said, her hand finding Aubrey’s. 

After the dinner dishes were put away, Stacie joined Aubrey down in the basement for her feeding. Ashley was waiting for Jessica to come home so they could do it together. 

Aubrey pulled out the blood to warm a little before Stacie held it. “Does it bother you that our relationship has tamed you?” Aubrey asked as they two of them stood together, arms wrapped around the other. 

“Not really.” Stacie rested her forehead against Aubrey’s. “It just took me by surprise how much you and I feel into the domestic side of being together. We’re like an old married couple sometimes.”

“I like it.” Aubrey slipped her hand under Stacie’s top to rest her hand against her skin, smiling when Stacie mirrored her. “It’s nice to spend time laying in my bed working on homework and having quiet moments together. Plus we still do go to parties. You just always come back with me and not a hot frat guy at the end of the night.”

Stacie swayed a little as she hummed to music in her head, smiling when Aubrey moved with her. “I miss sex, if I’m honest, but I also know when you and I have it, it’s going to be the best sex of my life.”

“No pressure on me or anything.” Aubrey teased as she held onto Stacie a little tighter. 

“Baby.” Stacie lifted her hand a bit to rub up and down her spine. “There isn’t. Because when you and I do anything together it’s pretty freaking fantastic.” She tilted her head to kiss Aubrey to prove her point. 

Aubrey melted against her, the warmth from Stacie and the hunger in her belly making her more willing to kiss her back deeply. Not to mention the sheer attraction. When the kiss broke she pressed her face to Stacie’s shoulder. “I want you. I want to. Soon. I promise.”

“I could get you one of those MMA mouth guards so you can’t bite me.” Stacie laughed softly, feeling Aubrey shake from holding back her laughter. 

“I would not take that well.” Aubrey laughed, knowing herself. 

“No. But I made you laugh and that really is one of my very favorite things.” Stacie kissed her before reaching behind her to grab her blood back, pressing it against her skin under her shirt. “You feed and then we’ll go make out on your bed.”

“You just want to mark my neck again since this one is starting to fade.” Aubrey trailed her fingers down Stacie’s forearm. 

“Not going to deny it.” Stacie smirked as she pulled the blood out to give to Aubrey. 

Stacie held Aubrey as the vampire brought the bag to her lips. “I’ve got you baby.” She whispered as she felt Aubrey breathe in. “Feed for me Bree and then I will go remind you just how wild I can be.”

Aubrey let out a low growl before her fangs sunk into the bag. 

—————

Jessica pulled her shirt on over her head when she heard the door open and shut again. 

“Everyone else is eating breakfast.” Ashley walked in with a towel on. It was the best time to take a shower for any of the vampires. 

“Awesome.” Jessica smiled as she gathered her hair together to put it in a messy bun. 

“Are you just going to watch me get dressed?” Ashley had an amused smile on her lips as Jessica sat on the bed as she dropped her towel. 

“That was my plan, yes.” Jessica sat on the bed, leaning back on her hands. 

Ashley rolled her eyes but the smile on her lips gave away how pleased she was. “I’m really happy we’re going to be sharing a room. I don’t know if I remember how to fall asleep without you and Aubrey wants everyone rested.”

Jessica smiled at her girlfriend as she watched her change. She really did love being able to live with her, it gave her a taste of just how comparable they were. “You’re the best big spoon.” 

“Only because you’re such a good little spoon.” Ashley walked over to her once she finished getting dressed. She leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “I love you, Jess.”

Jessica’s hand rose to press to her cheek. “I love you too.” She whispered, her eyes closed as their foreheads rested together.

For a moment the two vampires kept the position before Ashley tilted her head to press a kiss to Jessica’s forehead. “Let’s bring our bags down. The van will be here soon and we need to load it up before we get on the road.”

“Five hours in a van with the Bellas. Let’s hope we all make it to Carolina.” Jessica laughed as Ashley helped her to her feet. 

The pair walked downstairs just in time to see breakfast be finished. All of the wolves headed upstairs to get changed while Aubrey brought her bag out to the living room. 

“I called the blood supply company last week. They are delivering the blood at 5 p.m. tonight. Enough for that night, and the next night too.” Aubrey said as they started bringing the bags out to the porch. 

“Awesome. With all the dancing and singing we’re going to need to feed.” Ashley held Jessica’s hand as they all stood on the porch together. 

Beca came out, carrying her and Chloe’s bags. “How much does one person need for like two and a half days?” She grumbled as she let down Chloe’s bag, at least two times the size of hers. 

“I could carry my own bag if you think I’m bringing too much.” Chloe rubbed over her girlfriend’s back as they stood together. 

“No. It’s like in the rules that I carry your bag.” Beca waved her off. 

“How long is this drive again?” Stacie asked, dressed down with her oversized glasses on. 

“About five hours, depending on how much we need to stop.” Aubrey slipped her hand into Stacie’s without prompting. 

“Totally getting a nap in then.” Stacie let out a big yawn. 

“Up late?” Cynthia-Rose asked with a chuckle. 

“My chem professor is trying to kill me, so yes. Why he wants term papers when he barely lets us play in the lab is beyond me.” Stacie grumbled. 

“Would you trust most of your classmates in the lab?” Chloe asked. 

Stacie made a face. “Ok, fair point.” She had to admit. 

The bus pulled up, everyone grabbing their bags to load them underneath before moving to take their seats. Even though there was space for everyone to have their own half row, fairly predictably the couples all sat together. 

“Inside or outside?” Beca asked Chloe once they picked a row near the front. 

“Outside.” Chloe let Beca in before dropping down next to her.

Aubrey and Stacie sat across from them with Cynthia-Rose and Lilly in the two half rows behind them. Emily and Flo took their place in the next rows with Jessica and Ashley together in the far back. 

“Wake me up if we stop?” Stacie popped earbuds in before shifting in her seat to get comfortable with her head on Aubrey’s shoulder. 

Aubrey joined them hands before looking over at Chloe. “Alex is going to try to come to this one but she might have some family matters to take care of in France that would require her skill set.”

“I miss seeing her.” Chloe smiled. 

“How do you know Aubrey’s sister so well?” Beca asked, drumming lightly against Chloe’s thigh with a beat that was stuck in her head. 

“Alex was the captain of the Bellas for the first two years Aubrey and I were.” Chloe explained. 

“Seriously?” Beca asked. 

“It’s what made me decide to come to Barden.” Aubrey nodded, looking over at the pair. “I went and watched her at the semi final my senior year of high school. They got DQ’ed because of a technicality but it got me hooked.”

“Plus Alex is your favorite person.” Chloe teased. “After me of course.”

“Naturally.” Aubrey chuckled. “Maybe third now.” She looked down at an already sleeping Stacie on her shoulder. 

“Don’t tell her that, I’m not sure her heart could take it.” Chloe laughed. 

“I really need to meet her.” Beca smiled. “I mean I just assumed you were born fully formed like Athena. I want to hear all the dirt on your childhood.”

“It was mostly normal. I mean nothing about my family is normal but when I was kid, there wasn’t a lot that was out of place. When I grew older and found out all the skeletons in the closet, that’s when I started to understand more.” Aubrey didn’t elaborate about what the skeletons were. 

“Do you think your dad is coming up?” Chloe asked Beca. 

“We haven’t talked about it.” Beca had tried to be more friendly with him since her birthday but it was still difficult. But they were having lunch now and then and so far no bloodshed. “If we make the finals in New York, I think he’d go to that.”

“He better.” Chloe leaned over to give her a kiss to the head of her head. 

“What about yours?” Beca asked Chloe. 

“Not a chance.” Chloe’s voice betrayed her, heartache coloring the words.

Aubrey reached across to put her hand on Chloe’s arm. “Your family, your pack is on this bus.” She said in a low voice, anger coloring hers.

“Thanks Bree.” Chloe smiled over at her best friend. “Yours too. Even if Alex is allowed to stay in the family.”

“Alex is my sister and a Bella. I couldn’t get rid of her if I tried.” Aubrey snorted.

It was just past the third hour when they made their first stop. Lilly and Emily hopped off of the bus to go get something cold to drink while the bus driver topped off the tank. 

“Louve.” Aubrey whispered against the top of Stacie’s head. The term of endearment, wolf in French, had become more and more common. “We stopped.” She tugged out an earbud to try to wake her up. 

“Go get me coffee?” Stacie asked, cuddling against her side. 

“I’d have to be let go of me for that to happen.” Aubrey chuckled, brushing a little hair out of her face. 

Stacie grunted before sitting up straighter. “Fine, fine.” She yawned again. “Come on. Let’s go in and get me coffee and chocolate. And you a hot tea.” She let Aubrey stand before walking off the bus with her. Hand in hand they walked inside to get what they wanted. 

“They have so many kinds of Combos here.” Emily was standing in front of what had to be twenty different flavors and grinning.

“Gross.” Lilly made a face before grabbing a bag anyway. 

Stacie made her coffee while Aubrey made her tea, both of them standing close to each other as they did. Once they turned there was a man, tall with a thick beard, eyeing them after Stacie took Aubrey’s hand. 

“Fucking dykes are everywhere.” The man grumbled before walking away from them and out of the store. 

Stacie growled and moved to follow him while Aubrey used the connection via their joined hands to tug her back. “Don’t.” She had rage in her eyes as they moved to the front to pay. 

They waited by the doors for the others, making sure everyone was out of the store before walking to the bus together. Hands at their sides. Safety in the pack. 

It wasn’t until they were a good ten miles down the road before Stacie turned to Aubrey. “Why didn’t you let me go tell that guy to fuck off?”

“Because what good would it do? He was human. If a werewolf attacked him, even if he was being a bigot, it would just make you look uncontrolled.” Aubrey kept her voice as low as she could. 

“He deserved anything I’d do to him.” Stacie’s voice was a low growl. 

“You don’t deserve what punishment for teaching him a lesson.” Aubrey reminded her, leaning in to kiss her jaw. “You do me no good if you’re in prison. I need your hand in mine.”

“Barden makes me forget we’re in a world where humans care about things like two women together.” Stacie breathed out. “I forget not every place is safe to hold your hand.” She hated it. Deeply. Viscerally.

“At least he didn’t object to me being a vampire and you being a werewolf?” Aubrey tried to get any sort of smile out of Stacie. 

“At least.” Stacie put her head back on Aubrey’s shoulder. This time not sleeping as she soaked in the feeling of Aubrey putting her arm around her shoulders. 

—————

“Alright.” Aubrey stood in front of the Bellas after checking them in and getting the key cards. “Stacie and I are in 402, Beca and Chloe are in 403, Lilly and Cynthia-Rose are in 404, Emily and Flo are 405 and Jessica and Ashley are 406.” She looked at her watch and tried to figure out a plan. “It’s just after 4 pm. Everyone meet down here at 5:15 p.m. and we’ll do a group dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel.”

“Sounds like a plan. I need a shower and a power nap.” Cynthia-Rose hit the elevator button so they could all go to their floor. 

“If I get into bed I am not going down for dinner.” Beca groaned. She spent most of the bus ride working on a paper for her lit class and her brain was fried. 

“Poor baby.” Chloe rubbed her back as they all filled the elevator. 

Beca stuck her tongue out as her girlfriend but then leaned against her side. She followed Chloe to their room, carrying both of their bags. 

“One bed, right?” Chloe asked a question she already knew the answer to. 

“Duh.” Beca set the bags down on one of the beds before flopping onto the other. “Oh, this one is comfortable.” She put her arms behind her head. 

“Is it?” Chloe asked before she moved to lay against Beca’s side. “Oh, it is.” She rested her head against Beca’s shoulder, her arm around her partner's middle. 

Beca leaned her head to rest against the top of Chloe’s. “I’m glad we get to share a room. If I had to share with someone else, look I could do it but I wouldn’t enjoy it.”

Chloe slid her hand under Beca’s shirt to splay her fingers out against Beca’s pale skin. “I am thinking of talking to Emily about if she would change rooms with me.”

Beca closed her eyes, wrapping her arm tighter around Chloe’s frame. “Tired of Stacie using us as a reason to visit Aubrey?”

“At this point I don’t even think Stacie tells her a reason. She just shows up at her door and gives her a smile.” Chloe laughed at the image. “Aubrey needs her, Becs. She needs Stacie like I need you.”

“I need you too.” Beca replied. “You pull me out of my shell, you make me feel like I can do things that scare the hell out of me.”

“You do that for me too.” Chloe shifted out of Beca’s arms, sitting up only to bend down and kiss her firmly on the lips. “You’re my home.”

Beca lifted her left hand to the back of Chloe’s neck to keep her close. “I love you. I didn’t mean to fall for you. Not after seeing what falling out of love did to my parents.” 

“I love you too.” Chloe kissed her girlfriend again. She pulled back when there was a knock at the door. “Damn it.” She growled before jumping off the bed to see who it was. 

Aubrey and Stacie were at the door, both looked pissed and came in without a word. Chloe shot Beca a look who looked back with a worried expression. 

“We have a problem.” Aubrey growled as she spoke. “The blood place screwed up the date of the order. They had October 23 listed instead of October 13. And they are booked solid this week with the other groups in.” 

“Shit.” Beca moved off of the bed to stand with the others. “What are you going to do?”

“Jessica and Ashley’s parents are coming in tonight, that was already planned, they can feed from their mother’s. We went there first.” Stacie filled them in as Aubrey looked straight ahead. “But that leaves Aubrey without a meal. And while I offered, she turned me down.”

“I am not feeding from you for the first time because someone fucked up.” Her jaw tightened as she all but hissed the words out. 

“Bree.” Chloe reached her hand out to press it to her best friend’s arm. “Feed from me, alright? You’re my best friend. If you don’t eat tonight and tomorrow afternoon you are going to be hungry and when vampires get hungry … well, you’d know better than me.”

“I shouldn’t.” Aubrey’s jaw tightened somehow even more. 

“Aubrey.” Stacie tangled their fingers together as she held her hand. “You have to eat or you’re going to be off your game for tomorrow night. And could you forgive yourself if you were off your game or we were because we were worried?”

“Aubrey.” Beca kept her voice low, scared it would crack. “It’s ok. It’s ok with me if you do it.” She felt like with all Aubrey’s hang ups hearing it from her might help. 

“Tonight and then tomorrow early afternoon.” Aubrey relented. “And you need to drink a lot of fluid and take a nap after tomorrow.” She knew she could survive without the blood but going that long would leave her with much less control than she was used to with feeding every day. “And we’re never not bringing back up blood with us.”

Chloe stepped forward to hug her best friend. Aubrey was stiff at first but after a few moments relaxed enough to hug the Beta back. “It’ll be alright.”

“It won’t hurt, not a bit. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.” Aubrey whispered, her eyes closed tightly. 

“I trust you, Bree. I trust you.” Chloe reassured her. “Come here after dinner and we’ll do it. Beca and Stacie should be here, ok? Just to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

Aubrey pulled back when she couldn’t handle the tenderness of the moment anymore. There was something about how easily Chloe offered herself as Aubrey’s meal that just made her feel guilty for needing her to in the first place. “We should let you two get ready for dinner. Just come back and change for bed. We’ll be over after we are.”

Aubrey didn’t say another word as she and Stacie walked back to the room they were sharing. The vampire sunk down on the bed, an arm over her eyes. 

“Baby.” Stacie sat down on the bed opposite Aubrey. “Talk to me. Turning me down, letting Chloe be your feeding partner, there has to be so much going on in your head.”

Aubrey shivered, something that was out of her nature. It was human. It was a weakness. “I feel like I’m cheating on you because I’m so scared that if I take a drink of your blood I will never be able to stop myself from going to you every night for the rest of your life. That I will let you consume me while I consume you.”

Stacie moved from the spare bed around theirs to lay against Aubrey’s side. She needed the contact for this conversation so she slipped her hand under Aubrey’s shirt just a bit. “You aren’t cheating on me.” She whispered with conviction in her voice. “And you being worried about feeding from me is a valid fear. I know how much you worry about the shift in our relationship it will cause.”

“I think even if we were only together a month longer I would do it.” Aubrey felt the words stick on her throat as she forced them all out. “But I can’t yet. The reasons keep getting fuzzier and my feelings for you keep seeping deeper in my bones. But for all that I long to, I can’t do it. Because once I do it? Once I feed from you I’m forever changed and I can’t go back to not knowing what you taste like.”

Stacie let Aubrey vent her feelings, the frustration and slight shame and anger of her words making Stacie want to bare her neck to Aubrey and just force her hand to settle her fears. It would be an option she’d never be proud she thought of doing but her heart ached for her love. “I am going to wrap you up in my arms tonight while you bite Chloe. And then we’ll come back here and I will hold you while I sleep. You aren’t cheating on me or making Chloe be unfaithful to Beca. We’re all going to be there, everyone is going to be there.”

“Please don’t tell the others.” Aubrey asked, her hand playing with Stacie’s hair to try and keep her focus on something.

“No one else is going to know other than the four of us. Jessica and Ashley will need to be told you’re feeding Chloe because they will figure it out anyway.” Stacie promised her. 

“If I could be ready tonight, I would be.” Aubrey whispered. 

“If you did it and you weren’t … I wouldn’t want that Aubrey. I want it, to be bitten by you but I don’t want it if you aren’t ready for it.” Stacie tilted her head to press her lips against her girlfriends together. 

—————

Dinner took forever. Flo spent a good ten minutes talking to their waiter in Spanish about the food before they all decided just to let her order for all of them anyway. Aubrey, Stacie, Beca and Chloe tried to act like nothing was different. Which meant of course that the others wanted to extend the meal and chill out together to blow off steam at the table, all a little nervous about the next day.

Finally Lilly declared herself ready for bed which prompted Flo to agree and Emily mentioned wanting to call Benji to say goodnight. 

“I think we’re going to head to bed too.” Beca caught Aubrey’s eyes. “If we don’t Chloe is carrying me upstairs and I’m deadweight when I pass out.”

“Yeah you are.” Aubrey managed a chuckle that would fool all but Stacie and Chloe into believing it was unburdened. 

“Come on everyone.” Stacie finally pushed herself up to her feet. “We have to be downstairs and ready to go at 12 p.m. tomorrow. So eat before then because we need to be at the auditorium for 12:30 for our run through. We only get two hours.”

“Looks like Captain Posen is rubbing off on you.” Cynthia-Rose laughed as they all headed back to their floor. 

“Every chance I can get her to.” Stacie teased because it was easier to put this mask on right now. She couldn’t think too hard about what was about to happen. Knowing soon she would be wrapped around her girlfriend while she bit Beca’s girlfriend made the Alpha in her chest howl though her ribs and against the walls of her chest, reverberating back against her, cutting her as they passed her soft and tender bits. 

“Night guys.” Chloe pulled Beca into their room, latching the door rather than locking it. 

Beca dug out one of her favorite hoodies, that started off as Chloe’s, before a pair of shorts. “Are you doing ok, Chlo?” She asked as she started to undress as Chloe found a tank top and yoga pants to put on. 

“I have always said I would do anything for Aubrey. And now that I’m faced with it I know that I meant it and most of me is really proud Aubrey trusts me to do it, that I get to be there for her like this. But the part that is racing forward towards being your mate? That part is freaking out because you and Stacie have to stand there as Alpha’s the week before the full moon and watch her bite me.”

Beca stopped changing to turn to Chloe. Her arm wrapped around Chloe’s waist and pulled her flush against her, both topless and Beca’s pants around her ankles. “You are my mate in all but the mark I am going to put on your shoulder.” Her eyes flashed golden as she fought against her wolf for control. “And I am allowing her to bite you because I love my pack, an Alpha does what they need to to protect their pack. And she’s in my pack.”

Chloe nuzzled against Beca’s neck, holding around her torso. “After they leave, mark me?” She asked. Asking for a mark always felt so desperate to her but in this moment she couldn’t hold back the request even if she wanted to. 

“When they leave to go back to their room, Aubrey full on your blood and Stacie barely keeping herself together, I am going to undress you down to nothing and claim you in every way you allow me to.” Beca’s Alpha side usually was more subtle than this unless someone was in danger but in this moment it roared to life. 

Chloe swallowed thickly as all she could do was nod. “Please do.” Her voice trembled at the command in Beca’s voice. 

“And you’re going to claim me.” Beca leaned up to nip at Chloe’s lip. “You’re going to mark me, claim me, make me so sore for tomorrow during our rehearsals.” She wanted to take from Chloe but only as long as Chloe took from her. 

“Yes.” Chloe kissed her, tongue sliding against tongue as the kiss deepened. “I want to see my mark on your shoulder as much as I want to feel yours on mine.”

Both were barely dressed when Aubrey pushed the door open - she went to knock and saw it wasn’t closed all the way. Her green Barden sweatpants were matched by a tank top in the same color. “Hello.”

Stacie just raised an eyebrow when she walked in, shutting the door firmly behind her. She could smell how worked up Beca and Chloe were at the moment in a way that she thought if Aubrey and she didn’t come over right now, Aubrey might be skipping dinner tonight. “You ready for this?” She asked, her tank top and shorts all black. 

“How do we do this?” Chloe asked, turning after she took a deep breath. 

Aubrey stood at the end of one of the beds. “Get on your knees on the bed, wrap one of your arms around my waist. That way if you fall back, you’ll just land on the bed.” The pleasure of doing this, of having a warm meal and one from someone she cared deeply about as a sister was stolen from her because of why she was forced to do this. 

Chloe moved to the bed, easing an arm around Aubrey’s waist as she reached out for Beca’s hand, needing to ground herself. “Which side should I tilt my head?”

“To the left so I can bite your right side.” Aubrey didn’t bother to explain the left side was reserved by tradition for someone one was in love with. Aubrey stood with her best friend in her arms and her girlfriend pressed against her back, two arms firmly around her waist with Chloe’s resting against Stacie’s. 

“Are you going to charm me?” Chloe asked, her head tilted. 

“Yes.” Aubrey felt her fangs drop as her eyes looked at the neck she was about to bite down on. “Just close your eyes Chloe, it will be over in just a minute.” She whispered as she pressed a single kiss to her neck. She didn’t hum this time but let her charms seep into the very air that Chloe breathed in, relaxing her. 

“Alright.” Chloe barely had the strength to mumble under Aubrey’s charms.

Aubrey slammed her eyes shut before biting down on Chloe’s neck. The first gulp made her glad Stacie’s arms were around her to keep her upright. It was sweeter than the blood from the bags, warm as the perfect summer day and caused Aubrey to tighten her grip on her friend. As she downed another two gulps she felt her bite deepen before pulling back, tilting her head as blood trickled down her chin. Turning her head back down she licked over Chloe’s neck to clean it and close to bite. She used the back of her hand to clean off her chin.

“Oh.” Chloe panted as Aubrey slowly guided her down on the bed with Beca’s help. “Oh that feels really good.” She breathed out with a bit of a laugh. She opened her eyes, a golden color as the wolf inside of her tried to understand what just happened. 

“Yeah Chloe, I told you it wouldn’t hurt.” Aubrey gave her a sad smile as she sat on the bed, holding her hand. “In a few hours you’ll feel back to normal. I didn’t take very much because it’s your first time. Tomorrow I’ll take a little more and then we’ll be back to campus and I won’t need to.”

Chloe reached their joined hands up so she could feel the mark on her neck, her finger tips circling the twin marks. “How do you feel, Bree?”

“I don’t know, Chlo. I feel a lot of different things at the moment.” Aubrey admitted. “But I don’t feel hungry.” She bent down to kiss her forehead before standing up to address Beca. “She’ll be ok once the charm wears off. I dosed her pretty heavily to make sure that she didn’t get spooked during it.”

Beca leaned forward to give a one armed hug to Aubrey. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise.” Her eyes moved from Aubrey to Stacie. She didn’t need to say a word for Stacie to know what she was saying. When Stacie nodded her consent she looked back to Aubrey. “Thank you for trusting her. She would have been a mess if you didn’t.”

“Thank you for letting me.” Aubrey looked at Chloe one more time before pulling Stacie back to their room.

Stacie gave a smile to Beca and Chloe before being pulled out of the room. It took all of ten seconds after the door locked for her to pull Aubrey into her arms. 

Aubrey pressed her face to Stacie’s shoulder, holding on to her tightly. “I know what Chloe’s blood tastes like.” She licked her lips, tasting it again. “I know how it feels to have her pressed against me, to have her willingly tilt her head and show me her neck.”

Stacie held a little tighter to Aubrey. Her lips pressing soft kisses to Aubrey’s neck. “It excited you, didn’t it? Feeding from someone?” She didn’t judge her for it, what good would it do after all.

“When my fangs are down, my control is weakest. I almost turned Stacie, I almost turned and bit you because I could smell you, feel your body heat against my back, felt your heart beating. I tasted her blood and I thought of you the whole time.” Aubrey looked up at her, eyes full of adoration for her werewolf. 

“Oh baby.” Stacie bent down, kissing her and tasting Chloe’s blood on her lips. It somehow managed to turn her on more than anticipated. “Will you let me do something for you?”

“What?” Aubrey questioned. 

“Just trust me.” Stacie walked over to the bed and laid down on her side. “Come to bed, Bree.”

It took Aubrey all of three seconds to decide that if she trusted Stacie with her life, nothing she was going to ask her tonight would be too much. She laid on her side facing Stacie, her hand seeking out the feeling of Stacie’s hip under it. 

“Drop your fangs.” Stacie whispered as she shifted closer to her girlfriend. “I want to kiss you and I want your fangs down. Because I don’t think you’ve ever let someone kiss you with them down and if you have it doesn’t matter because no one can kiss you like I kiss you.”

Aubrey shuttered at what Stacie was asking of her, eyes closing. It would be the most delightful torture to have Stacie’s skilled tongue against her sensitive fangs. “So you remember what I told you about how good it would feel for me if you touched them?”

“I remember everything you tell me.” Stacie cupped Aubrey’s cheek, stroking her lips with the pad of her thumb. “Today we had a bigot make a comment that pissed me off, we had your food source get messed up and you fed off of someone who you will see every day just about going forward until at least May. Let me take care of you.”

“You are going to give me an orgasm to try to make up for a bad day?” Aubrey opened her eyes to look into Stacie’s green eyes. “The full moon after this one is during Thanksgiving week.” She reached up to trace over Stacie’s jaw. “I’ll give you this piece of me until we get there and then I’ll give you the rest of me.”

Stacie shuttered at the tight knot that formed in her belly. “I won’t ask you if you’re sure because you wouldn’t bring it up if you weren’t. But why the offer now?”

“I bit someone tonight. I fed from them and I know how fantastic it felt to gulp down their blood. If I can be around Chloe, if I can control myself, then it makes me more confident I can control myself with you.” She tucked a bit of dark hair behind Stacie’s ear. “As much as I hate that I fed from Chloe it might be the test I need to give myself in order to let go of that fear and do what I have wanted for a while now.”

“A while, eh?” Stacie wrapped her arms firmly around Aubrey to pull them both closer to each other. “You have wanted to have sex with me since our first date?”

Aubrey snorted. “I’ve wanted to have sex with you since hood night your freshman year.” 

“Seriously?” Stacie’s voice dropped. “How many times have you gotten yourself off to the thought of me, Bree?”

Aubrey closed her eyes, her fangs dropping down at the question. “More than I could count if I’m being honest.” The mixture of her eyes closed so she couldn’t see the smug smirk on Stacie’s lips and her control dampened made the truth easier to speak. 

“Always be honest with me.” Stacie traced her bottom lip with her thumb again. “I’ve thought of you too. More in the last two months than anyone. Sort of more and more only you.”

“So I really did tame the hunter?” Aubrey smirked, her eyes opened again to lock on Stacie’s. 

“Yeah baby, you did.” Stacie leaned in to press a soft kiss against her lips. “See I fell in love with you and he couldn’t help but follow along.” Her lips curled into a soft smile. 

“I fell in love with you too.” Aubrey grinned at the admission which made her fangs more visible. 

Stacie leaned in but stopped before her lips connected with Aubrey’s, she pulled back just enough to be able to see the look in Aubrey’s eyes. “I’m going to kiss you now, touching your fangs and myself.” She needed Aubrey to consent before anything happened. 

“Do I get to touch you too?” Aubrey whispered as she brushed her hand over Stacie’s breasts. 

“Yes.” Stacie groaned. “You can do whatever you’re comfortable with. Nothing more than you are, I know you just ate so you have more control but your fangs are down and for the first time I’ll be touching them.” 

Aubrey breathed in so she could see just how turned on Stacie was. The answer, maybe unsurprisingly, was very. She closed the gap between them so she could kiss the woman she loved. The only one who had ever accepted all of her so freely. 

Stacie didn’t trace over Aubrey’s fangs right away. She wanted to draw out the moment to build the kiss and the anticipation between the two of them. Her hand moved to Aubrey’s hip as she carefully deepened the kiss, her tongue staying away from Aubrey’s fangs for the moment. 

“Stace.” Aubrey mumbled against her mouth. She tugged at Stacie’s hips until the brunette was on top of her, pressing her down into the bed. “Touch them, please.” She begged as one of her thighs slipped between Stacie’s. 

“Oh baby.” Stacie ground down against Aubrey before kissing her again. This time the tip of her tongue slid down one of them. All at once she felt Aubrey arch against her as her thighs tightened around hers. 

“Fuck.” Aubrey whispered as she felt the effects of a single stroke of Stacie’s tongue. 

“Oh baby, not even close to it yet.” Stacie gave a wicked smirk before she kissed her again. Her tongue started to stroke up and down as her hips slowly rocked against Aubrey’s thigh. 

Aubrey had never had someone touch her fangs like this before. It was like Stacie had found a button that was directly connected to the pleasure center of her brain and she was mashing it down over and over again. Carefully she moved her hand down to toy with the tie on Stacie’s shorts. 

“Are you asking permission or thinking?” Stacie broke the kiss to bring her lips to Aubrey’s neck, kissing over the love bite she kept making on her pale skin. She hadn’t in the last few days so Aubrey could cover it with make up for tomorrow. “Because if you’re asking, the answer is yes.”

“You’ve been kissing me, touching my fangs with your tongue for twenty minutes and I haven’t felt my control over bitting you slip. I’m thinking about how much this isn’t as scary as I thought it might be.” Aubrey cried out softly as Stacie nipped at the top of her breast where it would be covered tomorrow. 

“See baby, you just needed to trust you the way I trust you.” Stacie looked up with her love for Aubrey written all over her face. “Because I trust you with my life, with my heart.” She pushed herself up a little and kissed her girlfriend again, her tongue swirling around one fang. 

Aubrey groaned into Stacie’s mouth while her hand slipped into Stacie’s shorts. She breathed in, the scent of Stacie filling her head and making her almost feel drunk off the power of knowing what she did to her. How she turned her on even if she knew in her head she did. 

Stacie could feel the way that Aubrey’s fingers traced her skin, as if she was trying to commit everything to memory. “Oh Bree.” Stacie had to break the kiss to drop her head against the vampire’s shoulder. She knew as Aubrey’s fingers touched her, hesitant at first and then more and more boldly, she was never going to think of sex, or touching or intimacy the same way again. 

“You are so warm.” Aubrey whimpered as her own hips jerked at the feeling of Stacie. “So wet.” She shuddered at how good it felt to slide her fingers inside of Stacie with her thumb rubbing small circles against her. 

“Fuck.” Stacie nuzzled Aubrey’s neck. It had been since the summer that anyone but her own hands had been on her. And now she had Aubrey under her, touching her after she had been allowed to kiss Aubrey with her fangs down for the first time. 

Aubrey’s thumb added a little more pressure as her fingers moved with a bit of purpose. She was caught off guard when Stacie suddenly turned her head and kissed her, tongue firm against one of her fangs and hand just as firm against her breast. 

Stacie felt Aubrey’s reaction, the way her fingers sped up even more, the way her thumb added more pressure, her back arching to press her breasts against Stacie’s own and her hand. The intake of air as Aubrey wanted to catch her scent. It was all too much. Despite herself Stacie came as she ground down hard against Aubrey’s hand and her thigh. She let out a howl into Aubrey’s mouth. 

When Aubrey wrapped her mind around what was happening it was all she needed, that and Stacie’s tongue back stroking her fang, before her own orgasm rocked her. The hand that wasn’t shoved down Stacie’s pants scratched against her back, tiny little drops of blood swelling to the top of Stacie’s skin from the depth of the marks. 

“Oh shit.” Stacie hissed before kissing Aubrey again. “I like it rough sometimes. At least that level of rough.” She admitted as she broke the kiss to rest her head against Aubrey’s shoulder. 

“Your heart is racing so fast.” Aubrey whispered, carefully moving her hand out of Stacie’s shorts. She brought her hand to her mouth, licking it clean which earned her around groan from Stacie. 

“So incredibly sexy.” Stacie nipped at her skin though she was careful not to leave a mark. 

“And you taste good.” Aubrey turned her head so she and Stacie could share a kiss. She moaned when Stacie ran her tongue back over her fang. 

“I really like getting to see you come apart in my arms.” Stacie whispered. She wrapped up Aubrey before rolling the pair of them over so Aubrey was on top of her. 

“Touching you like that.” Aubrey kissed Stacie’s pulse point. “It was so much better than how I dreamed it would be.”

“Anytime you want to do that, you just tell me.” Stacie closed her eyes, asleep a few heartbeats later. 

—————

After Aubrey and Stacie left, Chloe fell asleep. Beca curled around her, kissing the spot that Aubrey’s fangs left behind as if to remind herself and Chloe of themselves. 

Chloe woke up at half past two in the morning, having to pee. It took her almost five minutes to get out of bed, a pillow taking her place in Beca’s arms, before heading to the bathroom. After she was done and her hands were washed, she grabbed a few bottles of water and downed one after another after another. 

“Those are like $3 a pop.” Beca said with a thick voice from their bed. 

“Worth it.” Chloe headed back to her spot on the bed. She laid on her side facing Beca, her hand between them. 

“How are you feeling?” Beca moved the pillow behind her, shifting to face Chloe with her hand sliding over her Beta’s. 

“Honestly?” Chloe asked. “Really good. I’m not really tired and now that I downed the water I’m not thirsty either.”

“Neck doesn’t hurt?” Beca reached out to trace the two fang marks. 

“No.” Chloe shivered at the feeling of Beca’s finger against the bite. “Holding your hand during it, the fact you allowed me to do it meant a lot of me.”

“I didn’t allow you.” Beca whispered. “You’re an adult and Aubrey is your best friend.”

“You are my girlfriend, I wouldn’t have done it if you really objected because if you objected it would have been for a really good reason.” Chloe countered. 

Beca just leaned forward to kiss Chloe, still partly asleep but glad that Chloe was handling the aftereffects of Aubrey feeding on her. “I would only have if I had serious doubts.”

Chloe shifted a little closer to Beca, kissing her cheek and then her lips. She rested their foreheads together as her hand slid under Beca’s hoodie to trace a pattern over Beca’s left shoulder. “Will you mark me tonight?” She asked, remembering their conversation before Aubrey and Stacie came into their room.

“Chlo.” Beca wanted to tell Chloe that she should rest but when she looked into Chloe’s bright blue eyes, just enough light in the room for her to see them, she couldn’t say no. “Take your shirt off for me and roll on your belly.”

Chloe leaned in and kissed her, tongue firm against Beca’s before she pulled back. Both were left in a momentary daze before Chloe recovered enough to pull her shirt off and sent it to the floor. She rolled to her belly, pillow in her arms as she turned her head to look at Beca. 

“I think I knew that day in the hammock that we’d get here.” Beca reached out to trace over Chloe’s left shoulder blade. “You have fundamentally changed me for the better.” Beca bent her head down to kiss over the lean muscle she was about to mark. 

“You’ve changed me too.” Chloe shivered. She was about to belong to Beca in a very real way for her kind. It would never be with Beca like it would be with an Alpha who wanted to possess her for the sake of possessing a Beta. With Beca their natures had always complemented each other, never controlled. 

Beca flexed her left hand and she felt her fingers transform enough to form sharp nails on her middle three fingers. She pressed them into Chloe’s flesh, cutting deep down into the muscle before lowering her head to lap the blood. Her index finger drew a circle in the middle of the marks, her eyes watching it glow a golden color before the bleeding stopped. 

Chloe held her breath as the pain in her shoulder hit her, the euphoria of being marked giving way to the pain of having her body cut opened. She whimpered as she felt the full effect of what Beca had done to her and what she would soon do to Beca. 

“We don’t really do vows with this but I need to promise you this.” Beca nuzzled her cheek against the mark on Chloe’s shoulder. “I need to promise you that you’ll always be the one I run to instead of running away when I’m scared or pissed off or feel overwhelmed. I’ll run to you and not away from you.” 

Chloe raised herself up on the bed to kiss Beca, her eyes golden and her voice deeper as she spoke. “Lay down for me Becs?” She asked, wanting to make sure that her mark was on Beca’s shoulder before they claimed each other heart, body and soul. 

Beca felt a chill race up her spine at the feeling of hearing such a command from her mate. Because that was what Chloe was now. She was her mate even if for the moment she technically wasn’t Chloe’s. But that was about to change. 

“I promise that you will always be my first choice when it matters, that I will always be the one to have your back, that I will always find a way to be there when you need me.” Chloe whispered as her head bent and she pressed a kiss to Beca’s left shoulder. “I love you.”

Chloe’s claws pressed as deeply into Beca as Beca’s had into hers. They cut three deep lines in before Chloe’s head bent and she lapped at the blood, feeling a deeper connection to Beca than she ever had before. A circle was made in the middle to bind them together.

“Mates.” Chloe whispered. “We’re mates now. Even if we could undo it, uncouple, I don’t think I ever will be able to bring myself to.”

“Never.” Beca growled, turning her head to pull Chloe into a searing kiss. 

Chloe shifted over Beca, her hands on either side of her mate’s head to hold her up. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to stop smiling about the mark on my shoulder.” She rubbed her cheek against Beca’s. 

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe’s waist, tugging her until they were pressed close together. “The others will know in the morning. They will see the way I will press my hand to it all day. But tonight the only two people in the whole world that know are you and me.” She looked into Chloe’s eyes, feeling as loved and happy as she ever had. 

“We really need to talk to Emily about trading now, don’t we?” Beca asked with a soft chuckle. 

“Stacie might offer once she knows.” Chloe pressed soft open mouth kisses on Beca’s neck. “It gives her a reason to spend even more time in Aubrey’s room.”

Beca agreed with a soft hum. Right now she would give Chloe forever to stop doing what she was doing. Skin against skin from the waist, soft kisses against her neck, the feeling of her mark against the bed. It was intoxicating. “I’ve never been with a woman before. I’ve never been with anyone before.” 

“I know honey.” Chloe pulled back to look into her eyes. “Let me take care of you first, alright?” 

Beca just nodded, the words were trapped in her throat when she felt Chloe start to pull down her underwear and shorts with practiced swiftness. She had been naked around Chloe before because of their moonlight transformations. It felt so different when it was just them alone in a hotel room. No one was around to see the way they looked at each other. 

“You’re beautiful.” Chloe reached out to trail her fingers across the smooth skin of Beca’s stomach before tracing over her hip. 

“Look who’s talking.” Beca almost laughed but when Chloe shimmed herself out of the rest of her clothing any laughter inside of her was replaced with a low growl. “Fuck, you are a natural redhead.” 

Chloe’s laugh was low as she moved her body down the bed until she could rest her head against Beca’s middle, taking just a minute more to savor this feeling of anticipation. “Were you worried I wasn’t?”

Beca ran her fingers through Chloe’s hair, her nails scraping against her scalp. “Not really. I guess seeing you naked fried my brain tonight.”

Chloe turned her body so she could press a kiss just under Beca’s belly button. “Well, let’s see if we can have it happen again, shall we?” She grinned up at her before moving herself down to settle between Beca’s thighs. 

Chloe could feel Beca’s hands in her hair, the way she tugged just a little but was always careful not to pull too much. Though when Chloe licked Beca once and then twice, she felt a sharp tug as Beca arched herself closer to Chloe’s tongue. 

“Fuck.” Beca growled. “Do that again, please?” She already felt like she was going to come and it had been fifteen seconds. 

Chloe looked up at her before her lips wrapped around Beca’s clit so her tongue could flick against it. Two fingers slid inside of her, curled back towards her to try and push Beca as high as she could. 

“Oh God.” Beca flung one arm over her face so she couldn’t look down and watch Chloe. If she did she was sure that would be the end for her. “Fuck.” She grunted as her hips started to rock in time with the movement of Chloe’s fingers.

Chloe hadn’t expected Beca to be so worked up but it was an exciting feeling to know that her mate - sheds never get tired of that word - was this turned on by her. Chloe kept moving her tongue and her fingers as Beca’s hips helped her find a groove. 

Beca held on for as long as she could. She tried to think of how long they were doing this but it could have been minutes or hours, she was already covered in a light sheen of sweat, her nerves ablaze. “Fuck, Chloe, fuck.” Her jaw tightened as her orgasm hit her like a wave crashing down against the sand. She rocked her hips faster, trying to eek out everything she could. 

Chloe kissed up Beca’s body, her fingers trailing over Beca’s side until she was face to face with her mate. “I have wanted to do that for a while.” She whispered, nuzzling against Beca’s neck. Right now she didn’t care how messy they were. That was what showers were for. 

Beca turned her head, cheek to cheek with Chloe as she breathed in deeply, smelling herself and Chloe. The feeling of knowing how turned on her mate was by what she just did gave Beca the confidence to reach her left hand down. “I have no idea what I am doing, for the record, but I really want to make you feel as good as you made me.”

Chloe kissed Beca’s shoulder, nipping at her skin lightly before rolling them so Beca was on top. “I’ll guide you but I have no doubt you’ll figure out what to do. Side off of me and lay against my side, ok? Better angle.” She moved her hand over Beca’s, guiding her fingers once Beca was cuddled up beside her. “Like this.”

Beca’s mind went a bit fuzzy when she felt as wet as her scent implied. “Oh God.” She bit Chloe’s shoulder a little, not breaking the skin, before her tongue poked out to trace it. 

“Oh fuck.” Between the fingers on her clit and the bite on her shoulder Chloe felt her heart race. She started to rock her hips as she showed Beca just how to touch her like she needed to be touched. “I’m going to use my hand for something else, just keep that pace up for me, Becs.”

Beca nodded as she felt Chloe’s hand pull from hers. When she looked down between Chloe’s thighs she saw her use it inside of herself, causing a fresh wave of arousal to crash through her. “And I thought you were beautiful before.” She whispered, taking in what Chloe looked like being touched. Between the flush on her skin, the way her cheeks were reddened and the way she felt against the tips of Beca’s fingers she had never seen anything in her life that looked better. 

“Beca.” Chloe whimpered as she felt the knot in her belly tighten even more as Beca shifted her fingers just a little. “Just like that, Becs, just like that.” She arched against her mate’s fingers as every nerve in her body lit up like it was Christmas morning. “Oh God.”

Beca felt a little smug as she guided Chloe’s hand out of herself to tangle their fingers together, resting them together on Chloe’s stomach. “We’re mates.” 

“We are.” Chloe closed her eyes to rest her head against Beca’s. “No matter what else happens in our lives, we’re mates and no one can take that from us.” 

Beca managed to hook the blankets with her foot to bring them up so she could wrap them up. “Sleep Chlo, I’ve got you.” She whispered as they both drifted to sleep. 

—————

The morning of the ICCA Regionals, Jessica woke up in Ashley’s arms. They went to bed early the night before and then to sleep just after midnight. Jessica carefully turned in her girlfriend’s arms so she could look at her as the sunlight caused the slight brow tint to come out in her dark hair. 

A smile was on her lips as she ran the pads of her fingers across Ashley’s jaw, down her neck and arm until she could hold her hand. 

“It’s not nice to wake a sleeping vampire.” Ashley said without opening her eyes. She had a smile already playing on her lips even as she snuggled closer to her girlfriend so she could soak up the feeling of full skin to skin contact. 

“I’m always nice.” Jessica kissed her good morning. 

“You really are, it’s one of the things I love most about you.” Ashley opened her eyes to look at her. In the glow of the morning light she could have sworn Jessica was an angel. The light making a halo out of her fair hair. 

“I love so many things about you I don’t think I could count them all in a week.” Jessica ran her thumb over Ashley’s knuckles. “Not a month or a year either. Maybe a lifetime. Our size lifetime.”

“I plan to spend mine with you.” Ashley looked into her eyes. “However long or short I am on this earth, I’m going to be with you.”

“Good.” Jessica grinned at her, fangs dropping before she leaned in to a kiss. As fang met fang both moaned into the mouth of the other. There was a pleasure about it that was as undeniable as it was addicting.

“I love waking up to you in a playful mood.” Ashley groaned as the kiss ended. 

“I am always in a playful mood when we’re naked, in bed and have hours before we have to get up and go see the others.” Jessica smirked as her fingers pulled away from Ashley’s so she could trail them up and down her arm. 

“You always have the best thoughts early in the morning.” Ashley leaned in for another kiss as her grip on Jessica’s hip tightened. 

—————

Emily woke up to a good morning text from Benji and an offer to walk to her hotel for breakfast if she wanted. When she saw the text she bit her lip, still somehow grinning. 

“Benji texted you already?” Flo asked, looking over at the other Bella and smiling. 

“He wants to have breakfast together.” Emily beamed. 

“You two really are very cute together.” Flo shifted in her bed to look at Emily. 

“He treats me really well. I dated guys in high school but they always jerks.” Emily made a face. “Benji is so sweet. And he lets me be who I am without trying to change me but he also shows me who he is and we learn from each other and … I’m rambling again.” Her cheeks heated up. 

“It’s sweet.” Flo assured her. “You’re falling in love and he’s a good guy. That is something you should celebrate.”

Emily got a goofy smile on her face. “Mom is coming in today to see me perform. Afterwards I think I’m going to let her meet him.” She hadn’t told anyone her plan before, not even Benji. 

“He’s going to be a little nervous but I can see him doing it if it means a lot to you.” Flo had a feeling Benji would more than a little freak out but he always came up big when Emily was concerned. 

“I should hop in the shower.” Emily said as she swung the blankets off of herself. “Do you want to join us?” She asked. 

“You should tell him you’re going to have him meet your mom without an audience there. I’ll go eat with Cynthia-Rose and Lilly. Maybe some of the others if any of them drag themselves out of bed in the next hour or two.”

“Yeah, maybe I should tell him without anyone else there.” Emily thought about it a moment before nodding. “Yup, good idea Flo.” She smiled before heading to the bathroom.

After texting a few more times, she and Benji finally picked a time for him to meet her at the cafe in the hotel. She walked down a few minutes early, seeing him waiting for her with flowers in his hands. 

“These aren’t trick ones, I promise.” Benji gave her a slightly nervous smile. “And you look beautiful.” It was a little chilly for the blue sundress but Benji thought it made Emily look even prettier. 

“Thank you.” Emily hugged him, kissing his cheek before they got in line to order. “And the flowers are beautiful. Thank you for them.” She laced the hand not holding the flowers with his. 

They ordered their food and took their coffees to a table while they waited on their orders. Emily set the flowers in one of the chairs, feeling a little bit of nerves in her chest. 

“So, my Mom is coming in for the performance tonight. I was thinking maybe we could say hi to her after, together?” Emily gave him a slightly unsure smile. 

Benji was glad he hadn’t taken the slip of coffee that he was about to or he was sure Emily would be wearing it. “Your Mom? Like your Alpha werewolf mom who is a Bella icon?”

Emily blushed, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear as she ducked her head. “She’s just mom to me, but yes.” 

Benji paused for one second and then two. “I’d love to meet your mom.” He said, his hand gripping hers a little tighter. “You’re my girlfriend and if it’s important to you that I meet her then it’s important to me I do.”

“Really?” Emily’s eyes lit up. 

“You’re the first girlfriend I’ve ever had Em and you’re also one of the funniest, smartest, most talented women I know. I am so excited about us that I want to tell everyone how crazy I am about you. Even your mom. Maybe her most of all.”

“I really like you Benji.” Emily leaned over to kiss him. 

“I really like you too.” Benji whispered before his lips brushed against hers. 

—————

Cynthia-Rose, Lilly and Flo all waved Chloe and Beca over to them after the new mates ordered their breakfast. 

“Glad you two could join us.” Flo smiled at them. There was something different about them but she couldn’t put her finger on it. 

“It’s not like Chloe and I don’t share a room at Bella House most of the time.” Beca tried to hide her blush. 

“What is different about the two of you?” Lilly spoke loudly enough to be heard. Barely. 

“No idea what you mean.” Chloe just smiled back. They decided to see how long it would take for their friends to figure it out. While their scents wouldn’t change all that much both had a feeling out all of them Stacie would be the one to figure it out. But she wasn’t here right now so they waited to see if anyone would manage it. 

“There is something off.” Cynthia-Rose agreed as she leaned forward. 

“What the hell?” Chloe looked past Cynthia-Rose to see her younger brother Ben and someone she didn’t know sitting at a table. 

“Is that Ben?” Beca had seen him in photos. He had the same nose as Chloe, Beca thought, the same shade of hair. If she saw him on the street she was sure he would have reminded her of Chloe. 

“I should go say hi. You should not.” Chloe leaned over to kiss her mate. “Just give me a couple minutes to say hi. I’ll be right back.”

Beca didn’t like staying put but she didn’t want to argue with Chloe right now. She did move her chair so she had a better view of the table. 

On Chloe’s way over to the table, the woman Ben was sitting with got up and headed to grab her food. They passed each other just as Ben looked down at his phone. 

“Hey Ben.” Chloe stepped to his table, hands folded in front of her. “I didn’t know you were going to be here this weekend.” She felt her voice shake a little and hated herself for it. He was her little brother but he was also the guy a foot taller than her when she was 16 and he was 14, screaming at her when her parents were out because Abby told him they had to toughen her up. 

“Chloe?” Ben looked up from his phone, standing up. He had a tight end’s build, having gone to Oregon to play football. “What are you doing here?”

“Barden is one of the teams.” Chloe explained. “It’s our Regionals.”

“Oh.” Ben nodded, trying not to think about how he knew so little about his sister’s life. “Kat and I are here for a football game. She’s a cheerleader.” He explained as he put his hands in his hoodie because he didn’t know what else to do with them. 

“How are Mom and Dad?” Chloe asked, her voice small as she talked to her brother. She was reverting back to the Beta who let her siblings abuse her because she hoped if she allowed it they would get sick of it and stop. They didn’t until she left. 

“Good. I see them most weekends. Abby comes down from med school sometimes and we all hang out together as the family.” Ben explained, not seeing the problem with his sister’s exclusion. 

“Yeah, you guys always were more family than I was.” Chloe gave a sad smile. 

“Look, Chloe.” Ben ran a hand through his red hair. “Abby and me were always close because we’re Alphas. It’s just the way it is. We tried to include you in stuff and you always hated it.” His memory of how they grew up so much different than hers. 

“Abby fought me until I couldn’t stand and you screamed at me every time I breathed, Ben. She decided that having a Beta for a sister didn’t fit her plan and hated me for who I was. You followed in her footsteps.”

Ben growled low, not liking that his sister or a Beta was challenging him. “I think you aren’t remembering things right.” He put his hand on her arm as he growled his words. “You ran away from home and left our pack and now you want to seem like we’re the ones who pushed you out.”

As soon as Beca saw Ben put his hand on Chloe and lean in she was out of her chair and weaving her way towards them. “Let her go.” Beca growled a low growl. 

“Who are you?” Ben looked down at her. 

“The Alpha who is going to break your hand if you don’t let her go.” Beca snapped. “And her mate. And her pack leader.” She added for good measure. 

Ben dropped his sister’s arm. “I didn’t know you had a mate.” He said dumbly. 

“You touch her again.” Beca spat. “And I will have my pack make sure you miss your next game and the season after that.” She looked him in the eye, making sure he knew she was willing to make good on that. “Now tell your sister you’re very sorry for being an asshole so she and I can go enjoy our breakfast.”

“I’m sorry, Chlo.” Ben whispered. “Maybe Abby talked a lot after you left and it sort of fucked me up about what happened.” He added, not wanting to admit how much Chloe leaving left him as the one Abby, who was going to school in Portland and living at home still, took her anger out on. 

“You don’t get to do that Ben.” Chloe looked at him, jaw set. “You made life hell for me because Abby told you to. And when I was gone and she turned to you, it sucked I’m sure. But you don’t get to call me a liar because I’m a Beta, but when my Alpha mate tells you off you decide to try and get back to my good graces.” She shook her head. 

Beca laced their fingers together, needing to comfort her mate. She felt helpless to do anything but offer protection. There were nights she held Chloe over the last few months and the redhead told her about how she grew up that made Beca want to take Abby’s head off her shoulders. Ben seemed barely better. 

“Tell Mom and Dad I’m not coming home for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Tell them I’m just not coming home anymore, because Portland isn’t home anymore.” Chloe looked into her brother’s eyes. “Goodbye, little brother. I really do hope you have a good life.” She turned, tugging Beca with her.

When they rejoined the others, Jessica, Ashley, Emily and Benji had been added to their table, looking a little worried about what they just saw. Their food had been picked up and was on the table in front of their seats. Everyone was looking at Chloe, protectiveness written on their faces. 

“I’m alright, guys.” Chloe gave a weak smile. “Beca was there to protect me. To stand up for me.” She turned to her partner. She brought both of her hands up to cup Beca’s face, tilting her head to give her a kiss. 

“That’s what mate’s do for each other.” Beca replied after the kiss broke. 

“Mates?” Seven voices echoed around them. 

“What?” Cynthia-Rose asked. 

“When?” Emily chimed in. 

“What’s a mate?” Flo and Benji asked at the same time. 

“Think going really, really steady.” Beca laughed as she wrapped her arm around Chloe before pressing her face to her mate’s neck. “Are you sure you’re ok?” 

“I really, really am. I’ll call Mom in a few days and arrange everything from Portland to be shipped here. There isn’t much to be honest.” Chloe turned her head to kiss Beca again. 

“We can go to Seattle for Christmas. So you can meet my mom and I can show you all my favorite places.” Beca offered, holding her hand as they leaned against each other. 

“Perfect.” Chloe smiled. 

“I’m sorry to break the moment but I have to go.” Benji felt his ears heating up. “I have to get back so I can go practice in our time slot. We’re right before you guys.”

“Good luck.” Emily didn’t think she would see him again before tonight. “I mean it. I want you to do well even if I don’t want your team to win.” She smiled at him.

“Good luck.” Benji echoed, kissing her one more time because he could and he really liked that she liked that he did. “I know you will do great.” He got to his feet and headed out of the cafe. 

“Should we eat?” Chloe gave a soft smile to the group. For as sad as she felt that she was all but cutting her family from her life she felt a sense of freedom. She wasn’t going to just run away from them anymore, going home on holidays or in the summer. She was really ready to form her new family with people she lived as much as she loved.

—————

“You did what?” Stacie looked at Beca as the pair of them stood in her and Aubrey’s room. She was trying to figure out how she felt about this. 

“Technically you can force us to undo it because you and I are co leaders of the pack and we didn’t get your permission.” Beca breathed out. She had come to talk to Stacie while Chloe pulled Aubrey to her and Beca’s room. The “but please don’t” was unspoken but heard loud and clear. 

“Beca.” Stacie ran a hand through her hair. “I would never ask you to do that.” She sat down heavily on the end of her bed. “What percent is this because you watched Aubrey bite Chloe?”

“Maybe thirty?” Beca said honestly. “It was going to happen soon. Maybe the next full moon. But she asked me to mark her and I couldn’t say no to that because I wanted it just as much as she did. So we marked each other and then we did other stuff you don’t need details of. And judging by the level of pheromones in here you had a good night yourself so no jokes about it.”

Stacie thought for a moment about the pair and just how perfect they were for each other. She could tell in the small moments around the house and in the big moments in the field or when Emily was attacked. “After we win tonight, you and Chloe should come up to your room. Let us honor you right. We’ll hit the store and come back, I’ll text when we’re heading up.” 

Beca gave a small smile at Stacie wanting to honor the union. “I love her Stacie. Like you love Aubrey and no denying it.” She grinned as she thought of the two of them being so clueless sometimes at how bad they had it. 

“I don’t think I could deny it if my life depended on it.” Stacie admitted. “Not anymore. I love her, Beca. I love the dark parts and the sunny parts and the parts of her she hates, I love those parts too. Because she’s the other half of me. Because I’m the other half of her.”

“How long before Aubrey has a mark on her shoulder?” Beca asked, sitting next to her and nudging her with her shoulder. 

“I hope so.” Stacie admitted. “Knowing Chloe is wearing yours? It brings out the dominant side inside of my head.” She knew Beca would understand that. The war between the wolf and the person that she was and needed to be. 

“Aubrey lets you hold her while she feeds. She lets you touch her in ways that seem normal for us but have to be anything but for her kind. I think, Stace, that she is well on her way to accepting a mark on her shoulder even if she can’t put one on yours.” Beca reached over to take Stacie’s hand. The fact Stacie’s shoulder couldn’t be marked made Beca feel pain for her friend. A feeling of loss at something that would never happen, couldn’t happen. 

“Maybe one day I’ll get it tattooed instead.” Stacie shrugged. “There is something vampires do but Aubrey won’t say much about it. I don’t want to ask yet anyway. Not until after she’s marked at least because if it’s as heavy as I think it might be, I don’t know if she’ll ever be ready.”

“She loves you back, you know that right?” Beca held tight to Stacie’s hand. 

“I know.” Stacie did. She really did. 

“Should we go see if Chloe and Aubrey are hugging or fighting?” Beca asked. 

“Might be a good idea.” Stacie agreed as they left the room to go next door. 

Aubrey had a bit of blood around her mouth and Chloe was laying on the bed with her eyes closed. Aubrey sat on the bed, holding Chloe’s hand, looking down at her best friend. 

“If you break her heart the way her family did I will make you wish you had never been born.” Aubrey whispered, reaching out to stroke Chloe’s cheek with the back of her hand. “They abused her and hurt her in ways that were savage and cruel for the sake of it. I’m trusting you to never do that to my best friend.” She stood and turned to look at Beca, fangs down and eyes full of anger. 

“She is your mate and that will always come first for her now. It should always come first for her now.” Aubrey whispered with no malice in her tone but a sense of loss at being the most important person in Chloe Beale’s life. “But remember that she is always going to be my sister as sure as if she were blood.”

“I promise.” Beca whispered as she looked Aubrey in the eye. “She is mine and I am hers too. Because when she and I are together I don’t care that my dad left my mom and that love burns worse than acid. I care that she smiles at me when I make dumb jokes and she lays next to me when we go to bed at night. She makes me believe the love songs that I used to think were stupid. Because when Chloe Beale is yours, love isn’t stupid anymore.”

Aubrey stepped forward and pulled Beca into a tight hug. “She’ll sleep another hour then be alright. I didn’t take much blood but I needed to talk to you so I used more charm than was needed.”

“I understand.” Beca nodded as she looked up at the vampire. “You’re still going to always be her best friend, her sister. There is nothing I can do to change how much she needs you. How much you need her.”

Aubrey nodded as she pulled back from Beca. “I’ll see you downstairs in a bit.” She grabbed Stacie’s hand on the way out as they headed back to their bedroom.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Stacie wrapped Aubrey in her long arms once they were back in their room. She tucked Aubrey’s head under her chin, wanting to make sure that Aubrey felt as protected as she could right now. 

“Tell me what it means for them to have done what they did? In a way that Chloe can’t because she is so in love she can’t put the distance between the act and how she feels for Beca.” Aubrey asked as she held Stacie around the middle. 

“Beca and Chloe just decided to tell every wolf in the world that they belonged to each other. That if the rest of the pack faded away they would be a pack of two. Beca claimed rights to Chloe in a way that I know Beca would never use them but it gives protection to her anyway. And Chloe just showed the werewolf world no one but Beca decides her fate. Now that I’ve approved of them, that was all that was left in terms of it being stopped. Their parents can’t ask for it since they don’t belong to the pack. It’s as close to werewolves have to human marriage but it’s not quite a human marriage because there is nothing legal about it to humans and they still run the admin side of all of our lives when we live in their world.” Stacie tried to explain it as best she could. 

Aubrey didn’t reply for a few long moments. “I’m going to run into the forest in November, when you run after me and track me down and claim me.” Her voice shook with her desire for time to speed up. Chloe mentioned to her that tracking her down, hunting her down would be a thrill for Stacie as it mirrored an old right that wasn’t usually practiced. But the excitement of it would be enough. “Mark my shoulder and make me yours. I might not be able to put that mark on you and the one I can it’s an option yet. But I’ll feed from you after and maybe that will make up for it.” 

Stacie closed her eyes tightly at the surge of long she felt for her partner. The way that Aubrey had progressed had made even her feel light headed. She really needed to thank the company that lost the blood. If she hadn’t fed from Chloe and then if Chloe and Beca hadn’t marked each other in part because of it, then she would never have touched Aubrey’s fangs and they would never have made a plan to move their relationship forward during Thanksgiving week. 

“If that’s ok.” Aubrey whispered, taking Stacie’s quiet as a poor sign.

“I want nothing more than to make love to you under the full moon, mark your shoulder and then have you feed from me.” Stacie held on to Aubrey, feeling herself shiver. “You are mine, Aubrey Posen just as much as I am yours. It will be nice to get to a point where everyone else knows it too.”

Aubrey tilted her head up to capture Stacie’s lips in a heated kiss. The feeling through the bond that she had with Stacie was telling her just how deep the love Stacie had for her was, she hoped her kiss showed how much she reciprocated. 

“After we win tonight we need to go to the store. Beca and Chloe just got werewolf married, so we have to each get them a little something at the store. Usually food as a symbol of the old fashioned hunts they would go on.” Stacie hugged her again tightly. 

“So no dog toys?” Aubrey pressed her face against her shoulder. 

“Oh 100% we’ll get at least one.” Stacie smirked.

—————

They won Regionals, which was honestly the least memorable part of the weekend. Beca’s mashup of Chloe’s favorite Disney songs brought out the silly side in everyone which played well to the judges. 

“Mom?” Emily pulled Benji over to stand in front of Katherine Junk. “This is Benji, my boyfriend.” She beamed as she turned her head to look at him. 

“My daughter speaks very highly of you.” Katherine held out her hand to him. She laughed out loud when she felt the buzzer tucked into his palm. “I like this one, Emily.”

“Thank you Mrs. Junk.” Benji’s ears were red again. 

“Please.” Katherine smiled. “Call me Katherine.”

“It’s very nice to meet you.” Benji couldn’t bring himself to call her by her first name so soon but he also remembered Emily said to not be too nervous. “Katherine.”

Katherine laughed at the pause he took but didn’t comment on it. “My daughter tells me good things about you. I look forward to getting to know you.”

“Emily is the greatest.” Benji smiled, tilting his head to look at her. “And you were great tonight. You hit the last note perfectly.”

“Thank you.” Emily blushed, leaning in to kiss him but aiming for his cheek instead. 

Stacie walked over, giving Katherine a smile. “Nice to see you again. I am sorry to cut this short but we have a pack thing to do tonight that requires all of it.” She explained. “Two of our members, Chloe and Beca if you remember them, became mates last night.”

“Really?” Katherine clapped her hands together. “Please give them my best wishes.”

“I will.” Stacie smiled. “We’re going to the store to grab some stuff for them and present it. And we need all of the pack there. Benji, Aubrey said you could come since we’ve already won and you guys were first losers, her words not mine.”

Benji laughed at Aubrey’s term. “Thanks. I think I’ll have more fun with you guys than the Trebles after the loss.”

“Thank you for coming Mom.” Emily hugged her tightly. “I’ll be home for Thanksgiving next month and then Christmas and winter break.” She was so excited to go home for a bit.”

“I can’t wait.” Katherine smiled at her daughter when she pulled back. “Bring Beni if you want. Your father can take him hunting.” She winked before turning and walking away. 

“Was she serious?” Benji asked in a high pitched voice. 

“Hunting for turkey or deer. Not boyfriends.” Emily assured him. 

“That’s what you think.” Stacie said under her breath. “Ok you two, let’s go.”

Everyone besides Chloe and Beca were waiting for them as they walked over. Cynthia-Rose, Flo and Lilly were talking about how exciting the feeling of beating the Trebles was. While Jessica leaned against Ashley just watching everyone. 

“Where is the happy couple? Not taking the van with us back to the hotel?” Stacie asked Aubrey. 

“I got them a cab so they could go back and enjoy a little pease.” Aubrey explained. 

“Smart. Alright everyone. If you’ve never done this before the idea is simple. Something food related is always good, something fun like a crossword puzzle book at the checkout works too. Just make sure it’s what Beca or Chloe might like.” Stacie explained to them as they walked to the bus. 

It wasn’t that far from the college to the hotel. They each got off of the bus and headed inside, trying to find something that would be unique but would be welcome by the couple. It didn’t take long for everyone to find something and check out. Once Aubrey did a headcount to make sure no Bella was left behind, they got back on the bus and drove to the hotel.

“Alright I texted Beca and she responded so if we walk in to naked fun times, I am letting Bree at her.” Stacie said as they got off the elevator on their floor. She did not want to walk in on the pair of them having sex if they somehow forgot to latch the door. 

“I am not attacking them because you have to see one or either of them naked.” Aubrey rolled her eyes. 

“Killjoy.” Stacie teased while Emily knocked on the door. Thankfully it was shut all the way and even in their post mating haze she expected them to remember to wear something when they opened up the door. 

It took a minute or two but Beca finally opened it, dressed in one of the hotel robes and looking like she was a little out of breath. Chloe was in a matching robe just behind her looking in about the same shape.

“We should do more cardio if the two of you are that out of breath.” Aubrey smirked as she walked in with the others.

“Rude.” Beca made a face but she had to admit that running had done some work to make her feel better. Not that she was ever, ever, telling Aubrey that. 

The air in the room shifted a bit as Cynthia-Rose stepped up to Beca and Chloe once they sat on the end of the bed. 

“For a long life and many successful hunts.” Cynthia-Rose said as she handed over a package of Oreos. They were always gone the moment either Beca or Chloe brought them into the house. She kissed both of their cheeks before stepping back. 

Lilly was next, handing them some beef jerky. “For a long life and many successful hunts.” She mirrored the cheek kiss that Cynthia-Rose gave. 

“For a long life and many successful hunts.” Emily held Benji’s hand as they came up together. She gave them a book of poems that was packet size she found, thinking of them when she saw it. She bent to kiss their cheeks, saving Benji from having to do it. 

“For a long life and many successful hunts.” Jessica and Ashley said at the same time before presenting a bag each of roasted sunflower and roasted pumpkin seeds. They kissed Beca and Chloe’s cheeks before swapping places to kiss the other’s. 

“Um, for a long life and many successful hunts.” Flo said, mirroring what the others had said as her gift of a bottle of grape juice in a wine bottle was handed over. She bent down and kissed both of their cheeks before stepping back. 

Aubrey stepped forward without her partner. Stacie had to go last so she was on her own for this. “For a long life and many successful hunts.” She pressed a bottle of Chloe’s favorite, Nutella, into her hand. “I love you both.” She whispered when she kissed their cheeks. 

Stacie stepped in front of the pair. “As your Alpha and as co-leader of this pack it is my honor to confirm this union.” Both Beca and Chloe turned so Stacie could touch their marks before turning back around. 

“Thank you, thank you all for being here for this.” Beca and Chloe stood and took turns hugging each of the Bellas. 

“I can’t believe the two of you become mates.” Emily was excited at the idea they had and it had been so exciting. She loved love and Beca and Chloe had so much love between them.

“Emily, you and I are going to be roommates now.” Stacie chuckled. 

“Oh cool, I get my own room.” Even Emily couldn’t turn down a shot to tease back when she saw it. 

“Not untrue.” Lilly nodded. 

“If you ever get lonely you can come see me.” Flo offered. Fat Amy still had half of her things in Bella House but as far as the rest knew she and Bumper were somewhere getting a smoothie.

Stacie reached into her back pocket to grab a squeaky toy and tossed it at Beca. “We all chipped in to get this for you.” She smirked widely. 

“Asshole.” Beca laughed, tossing it back at her. 

“So, this place smells like sex.” Cynthia-Rose laughed after each of them had gotten their hugs. “You two stay here and make it smell more like sex. The rest of you want to go to mine and Lilly’s room and hang out with the 24 pack I got hidden in there?”

Even Aubrey had to be impressed Cynthia-Rose found a way to get a 24 pack of beer to her room for all of them. She didn’t object as she was tugged by Stacie out of the room and down the hall. 

Beca looked at Chloe after the door shut with a soft click. “Ready for our honeymoon Chlo, as short as it might be?”

Chloe just smirked as she pulled her robe off and then undid Beca’s. “Always ready.” She grinned as she tugged Beca’s bare body toward hers. 


	6. A Change of Form

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached a very big turning point in the story. I hope y’all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> And as always G, thanks for all you do.

Aubrey laid on her side facing Stacie, they were in her room again, in the early morning. Since Regionals Stacie had spent every night in Aubrey’s room. A drawer emptied by Aubrey so Stacie didn’t always have to go upstairs to her room, now shared with Emily, to grab something in the morning.

“Tomorrow.” Aubrey trailed her fingers up and down Stacie’s arm. “Tell me what is going to happen tomorrow when dusk hits?”

Stacie smiled at the thought of what was to come. “You’re going to run. Fast and far and to the cabin I rented about a dozen miles from here. And I’m going to run after you. And hunt you down, following your scent. Not knowing in the moment where you are but tracking you. And when I find you, when I hunt you down, I am going to shift back from wolf to woman and I am going to mark your shoulder to make you my mate.” The words were whispered, the effort to keep her voice down took all of Stacie’s willpower but she feared saying them too loudly would cause the universe to take them away.

Aubrey felt her belly tighten. “Chloe mentioned things changed before her and Beca when she became her mate but I haven’t asked for fear I’m going to hear all about their sex life. I already stopped breathing when they are anywhere near me.”

Stacie snorted at that. “Smart. They smell like they are having all of the sex two people can have. But I don’t blame them. They have only been mated a month, they are still in the honeymoon phase.”

“I think they might be for years if the way Chloe looks at Beca and Beca looks back are any indication.” Aubrey replied.

Stacie nodded her agreement as her hand slid under Aubrey’s tank top. “To answer your question, we won’t need to touch to feel each other’s emotional state. It grows slowly so another person’s feelings don’t just slam into you. But Beca said about a month in she can feel Chloe nearly as strongly from about a half mile away as she can sitting next to her. One day there won’t be a distance she can’t feel her at. I am hoping it will work the same for us in that respect.” She liked the idea they would always be in the very back of each other’s mind, bound together in a way that was theirs alone. “I would tell you that you’re going to be stronger, crave meat a little more and be more nocturnal if you were human. But I have no idea if any of those will apply to you. But one that that should apply to you from the reading I’ve been doing is the sunlight won’t affect you as much. You’ll be like a vampire out of the sun, in the sun.”

Aubrey’s eyebrow rose at the news. “I can’t deny the idea I won’t be as vulnerable walking to class or sitting outside is one I enjoy.” She had very little reason to believe that anyone would try to hurt her in the sunlight. But the idea she was as weak as any human in the direct sunlight did make her avoid it when she could and move quickly out of it when she couldn’t. 

“You and Chloe, as the mates of the pack Alphas, sort of get a seat at the table so to speak. Pack matters involve you two, not just Bella matters.” Stacie stroked Aubrey’s side with her thumb. “And if someone in the pack needs something, Beca and I are very happy to consent to you and Chloe giving permission in our names.”

“Oh are you?” Aubrey leaned in to kiss her. She knew Stacie and Beca were under no obligation to do that. “The pack is made up of women that Chloe and I already lead at Bellas. Makes things a little easier to know the leadership group is the same from one to the other. Between you helping Chloe with the choreography and Beca handling the music duties with me.”

“It does.” Stacie agreed. “When I put my mark on you I’m making you my mate. But technically speaking you can’t return the mark so under even our pack rules I’m not your mate. Even if nearly anyone would think of you as my mate and me as yours with the mark on your shoulder. But you’ll be feeding from me so I am under your protection by the rules vampires play by. At least as far as my understanding of all of this goes.”

Aubrey shifted a little closer, seeking out Stacie’s warmth and her grasp. “There is a way for me to make you my mate by the laws of vampires, which as far as my reading goes would also apply to both our pack and werewolves at large. But it’s a monstrous thing.”

“Tell me anyway?” Stacie asked.

“The act isn’t monstrous. A bite to your left wrist, a slash to mine, our blood pressed together as I whisper my pledge to you.” Aubrey whispered. “Oh but the ramifications are. Because it binds you to me for the rest of our lives. No way to undo it. Meaning you don’t die a natural death. You die only if murdered, only if your head is cut off or your heart is cut out and burned.” She pressed her forehead to Stacie’s collarbone at the thought of someone harming Stacie to get to her in the future. “You see everyone you love die, you bury your friends and your family and their children and their grandchildren’s grandchildren. You would be mine in blood. Bound to me as I would be bound to you. Your blood would be the only craving I have, maddening if I couldn’t have it but breathtaking when I can. It’s for a vampire’s lifetime which can be a millennium. More now that we’re not hunted like we used to be.”

“You’re going to either do something that will see me watch everyone I know die or you’re going to have to watch me die a werewolf’s death.” Stacie felt anger in her chest at the injustice of it all. She might have another hundred years or a hundred and twenty if she was very lucky but that was nothing compared to what Aubrey had ahead of it. 

“If you and I never do it but we spend the rest of your life together.” Aubrey’s voice was so soft Stacie had to strain to hear her. “I don’t know what I will do once you are gone. But to curse you to a lifetime that will see you forced to say goodbye to people you love over and over seems cruel.”

Stacie tried to process what Aubrey was telling her as she held her love in her arms. This felt so much heavier than what she and Aubrey would be doing with Aubrey’s left shoulder. The werewolf’s mark was all about the desire to grow old together while the vampire’s mark was about never growing old in the first place. 

“Oh Bree.” Stacie shuttered. “Chloe. You are going to have to watch her leave you.” The idea that the two best friends, the two sisters, would be parted one day broke Stacie’s heart. 

Aubrey squeezed her eyes together tighter. “I knew long before the moment that I started loving her as my sister, as my family, that one day I would stand at her graveside. It’s why I look at her sometimes and try to commit all of her to memory. Because one day I will have nothing of her but my memories. She is the greatest friend I could ask for and I will have to say goodbye to her hundreds of years before I’m ready.”

The idea that Aubrey would already have to say goodbye to Chloe was nearly enough to make Stacie hold her wrist out right then and there but she held back. “One day I am going to ask you to bite me on my left wrist and our blood is going to flow together.”

Aubrey moved as close to Stacie as she could, wishing she could get even closer than she already was. “I feel foolish for how much I need you even if it’s a curse to do it to you. To keep you from death so I am not alone in this world.”

“Baby.” Stacie shifted Aubrey up to allow her to nuzzle her girlfriend’s neck. “Leaving you would be more painful than death itself. How could I knowing no one but me knows how to hold you when you have a bad day in a way that turns it good or how to make your tea just the way you like? I couldn’t leave you until I found a replacement and no one deserves you so I never would find one.”

“You are pretty irreplaceable.” Aubrey had to admit. “I am glad you are going to be my mate.” She stroked Stacie’s jaw as she tried to push her feelings about the vampire’s mark away. 

“It won’t do to me what it will to you. But will you still mark my shoulder? Cut into my and lick my shoulder to seal it the way you can to have the scar to show?” Stacie knew vampires could control some things about their bites and how they sealed wounds. 

“I will.” Aubrey agreed as her fingers ran over the place on Stacie’s shoulder where she would mark her. “I can’t have you not have a mark on your left shoulder. Technically speaking or not, you’re my mate and I’m yours.”

“I love you, Bree.” Stacie whispered. 

“I love you, Louve.” Aubrey replied. 

—————

Beca walked into the kitchen for lunch, having been working on a mix for the morning. Chloe was at the table working on a project that was due at the end of this Thanksgiving break.

“Hey there.” Beca bent down to kiss Chloe’s cheek. “How ya doing, mate?” She asked, her voice almost turning into a giggle as she said the last word. 

Chloe turned her head with a grin spread across her lips. “My homework is less fun than spending time with you but if I get most of it done before tonight I’ll have time to enjoy the empty house with you. Aubrey and Stacie are going on a hunt together tonight. Aubrey being the pray.”

“Really?” Beca smirked. “We might have to do that sometime. Me hunting you on scent, running after you, finding you, turning back human and enjoying a night under the stars.” Her mind already planning it out. 

“I will never turn down something like that.” Chloe reached for Beca’s hand, holding it in hers.

Beca shook her head to try to clear the image of the pair of them naked on a blanket in the forest out of her head. “Lunch. I came down for lunch. Can I make you something?”

“Yes, please.” Chloe smiled up at her. 

After making two roast beef sandwiches, the rarest roast beef they could find at the market, Beca sat down across from Chloe. “Aubrey is going to become Stacie’s mate tonight. Stacie had to ask me for my blessing and I gave it of course.”

“Aubrey told me. I thought I’d go and talk to her before tonight.” Chloe said after swallowing her first bite.

“Smart idea. It’s going to be an adjustment for her to feel more wolfish impulses all the time.” Beca agreed. 

Chloe agreed with a nod as she worked on eating her lunch. 

“Even if I like that the house will be ours tonight with them out and everyone else gone home for Thanksgiving, is it weird I feel kinda lonely without the pack here?” Beca sighed. 

“I do too.” Chloe agreed. “We’re pack animals. We like to have our pack around us, to know they are near, that they are ok. You being an Alpha, that has to be even stronger than it is for me."

“I should check in with everyone today, make sure they got home alright.” Beca picked up her phone to start texting people. 

—————

Chloe popped her head into Aubrey’s room after Stacie left it in search of food. 

“Hey.” Chloe noticed how relaxed Aubrey looked enough to still be laying in bed late into the afternoon. 

“Come to give me a talk before this evening?” Aubrey lowered her body, shifting over to let Chloe lay next to her on the bed. 

Chloe laid down with an arm thrown over Aubrey’s middle while her face pressed against her shoulder. “I never thought I’d see you let someone in like this. Even watching you and Stacie last year I didn’t think you’d have her scent wrapped around you like Superman’s cape.”

Aubrey closed her eyes, letting the feeling of her best friend holding on to her act as a warming blanket. “I never went looking for this but the thing with Stacie is I never have needed to explain myself to her. Even when I did. She understood me even when I pulled back she knew when to push forward.”

“You are going to make such a good mate for her.” Chloe smiled against her shoulder. “The way you steady her and she brings you to life aren’t accidents. It’s like you're meant to be.”

Aubrey chuckled. “I hope so. There is a non zero precent chance I mark her with my mark in the future.”

Chloe lifted her head to look at Aubrey, wanting to see her expression as she brought up something she always assumed Aubrey would be unwilling to do. “I don’t know if vampires have ceremonies like we do, but if they do I want to be there.”

Aubrey laced their fingers together, resting them over her middle. “Not for the act itself but there is usually something after that would fit the bill.” She thought of how quickly she had gone from riding on Stacie’s motorcycle to this and felt her heart wishing it could beat faster at the excitement of it all.

Chloe closed her eyes again as she laid against Aubrey. “When I die one day, a long, long time from now, I’m really glad you won’t just be alone. That Stacie will be beside you and you’ll be able to grieve with her.” 

“I never want that day to come.” Aubrey’s jaw set.

“I don’t either.” Chloe whispered as her hand tightened around Aubrey’s. “But I am mortal and you using your bonds to keep me alive, even if you did it to Beca too so she and I could be together forever, it wouldn’t be right. Stacie is yours and you’re hers.”

Aubrey rolled a little to put her forehead against Chloe’s. “You are as much my family as anyone will ever be. Watch over me when you are gone? I think I will need the guidance.”

Chloe smiled at the idea of being Aubrey’s guardian. “You’ll watch over the ones I leave behind, my children and theirs and so on. And I’ll watch over you. It’s a deal.” 

Aubrey smiled as she closed her eyes, enjoying a few moments of time with her best friend as she could hear her soon to be mate and Chloe’s mate talking in the kitchen. 

—————

In the kitchen Beca and Stacie sat around the table, each nursing one of the beers that Aubrey bought but rarely drank more than one of. They were Stacie’s favorite though. 

“It’s different after.” Beca said as the laughter from explaining how she pranked Jesse the week before died down. “It will feel different every time you touch her, every time she kisses you, every time.”

“Better though?” Stacie questioned. 

“Indescribably so.” Beca nodded. “It’s like you’ve always got a little of your mate with you. You’re never really alone but it’s not oppressive because the bond matures pretty slowly.”

Stacie took a long pull from her beer as she thought about how much she craved the bond with her vampire. “She and I are going to be together for a really long time. More than my normal lifetime if she ever gives me her mark. And you know the funny part?”

“What?” Beca tilted her head. 

“I don’t know if it will be long enough even then.” Stacie gave a smile. 

“You and she, you two work in a way I never would have guessed.” Beca was glad that her fellow Alpha was finding happiness. “And the four of us make a pretty good team right now.”

“Next year, even when Chloe and Aubrey are gone, they are still our mates and still Bellas. I don’t think they will be able to stay away from the Bellas even if you’re captain.” Stacie finished her beer, playing with the label. 

“Co-captain. I am not taking on a full team of Bellas alone. If I’m the captain going to be my co-captain.” Beca said like it was obvious. 

“You do love me.” Stacie teased. 

“Duh.” Beca rolled her eyes, grabbing both of the beers to toss them in the bottle return. “We’re co leaders of a pack together, of course I love you.”

Stacie hugged Beca when she stood, always amused at the difference in height between the two of them when they were barefoot. “No one else I rather co-lead a pack with.”

“Will you and Aubrey be back Thanksgiving morning or should we plan for you two to be back around dinner?” Beca asked.

“We should be back late morning. Aubrey wants to see the Virginia vs Florida State football game.” Aubrey being into football might be one of the things Stacie expected the least but found very charming.

Beca pulled back from the hug. “Go cuddle with your girlfriend before your hunt tonight and send my mate upstairs, would you?” She asked with a smile. “I haven’t kissed her in like an hour.”

“Yes dear.” Stacie rolled her eyes but headed to Aubrey’s room to go lay with her girlfriend and send Chloe up for another round with Beca. 

—————

The nearly full moon was high as Stacie’s large paws smacked against the muddy ground. Aubrey left half an hour before she allowed herself to rush off of the porch and into the woods. Dressed only in a sports bra and shorts even if the temperature outside was nearly freezing. 

There was a cabin for them a dozen or so miles away. Stacie had allowed Aubrey to map out her route and run there a time or two on her own. But she had no idea really how to get there except the main roads. She didn’t need a map through the woods, just Aubrey’s scent on the wind and the drive inside of her that pulled her to Aubrey. 

She stopped at a fork in the trail she had been on and sniffed to try and find which direction to go down. As she brought her massive head down she caught Aubrey’s scent and followed it to a tree where she sniffed a little blood. 

The real question would Aubrey play fair, hoping they found each other quickly or would Aubrey want to tease her to see if she really could live up to her kind? 

Stacie headed down the path without the blood marked tree, running as fast as she could toward her soon to be mate. Her heart was beating fast while she sucked in as much air as she could. She wanted to get herself to Aubrey, to change her form back to human so she could mark her as hers. 

That drive, that possessive tendency had never been hers before. She was willing to move from person to person to find what she wanted. But now? Now there was a single person who held all of her focus. And by the feeling of it she was closing in on her. It was as if she was attached to a rope being pulled ever closer. 

Stacie could smell the smoke before she saw it. Coming from a simple stone chimney that was on the backside of the two room, a main room and a bathroom, cabin she rented them. 

“Hello, Louve.” Aubrey stood in the doorway to the cabin. “You made good time. I barely had time to start the fire and turn down the bed.”

Stacie moved closer in her wolf form, her head turning up to let out a howl that she found her. Her form shifted as fur and fangs were replaced with hair and teeth. She grunted as the pain of transformation gave way to the excitement of being here with Aubrey. 

“I found you.” Stacie, naked as the moment she was born, walked over to Aubrey to wrap her arms around her waist. 

“I had confidence you would.” Aubrey leaned in to nuzzle her neck. The racing of Stacie’s heart only making her hunger grow. Soon she would know what it felt like to feed from her. 

“Inside.” Stacie walked them back into the warmth of the cabin. She used her foot to kick the door shut, reaching back to throw the latch before her hands forced on pulling Aubrey’s clothes off. 

“Tomorrow is the full moon.” Aubrey whispered as her hands moved over her biceps. “You’re always so demanding before it.” She helped Stacie undress her before they stood pressed to each other with nothing between them anymore. 

“Lay down on the bed, Bree.” Stacie’s eyes were golden as she looked at her. The wolf barely contained inside of her at the thought she was about to mark her after months of waiting and over a year of knowing each other. 

Without another word Aubrey did as Stacie asked. A pillow in her arms to rest her head on while Stacie stood by the fire to warm herself. She knew it was her love’s way of subtly showing dominance by making her wait. She wouldn’t have for anyone else but at the moment seeing the firelight reflect off of Stacie’s skin was calming in a way fire never was to her before. 

“I ran and I ran and I caught your scent on the wind.” Stacie held her palms to the fire as she stood before it. “And all I could think about was I would search for you however long I needed to if you demanded it. That I would go to the ends of the earth if it meant you were on the edge waiting for me.” She locked eyes with Aubrey. “We’re young and maybe it’s foolish to feel this much for each other. But tonight I am going to make you mine and you’re going to make me yours too.”

Aubrey tilted her head as she tried to understand if Stacie was asking her what she thought she was. It was clear from the force of her gaze that she was. And for once Aubrey denied the little voice in head that told her it was a bad idea. That they were too young and it was too soon and there were a million forces in the universe that could pull them apart. She shoved it back and locked it away. Because whatever was between her and Stacie was like taking a deep breathe after spending years under water. 

“Mark me first.” Was all Aubrey could say.

Stacie moved across the distance between them in a flash. Kneeling at the bedside and forcing her hand into the claw it needed to preform this rite. She traced over Aubrey’s skin to ask if she consented, because once she marked Aubrey she would not let her own flesh go unmarked. 

“I promise to love you for as long as my heart beats in my chest.” Stacie drew the first mark after a nod of Aubrey’s head. 

“For as long as you breathe in and smile when you catch my scent on the breeze.” The second mark was laid down. 

“For as long as the sun and the moon, and all the planets, and all the stars in the heavens rise in the east and set in the west.” Stacie made the last line in Aubrey’s shoulder. 

“I will be your mate until I am buried in the ground to never stand again.” She circled the mark, watching it glow for a moment. 

Aubrey felt her fangs lower of their own accord as the pain in her shoulder faded. She tugged at Stacie until she was on the bed, flat on her back before straddling her. Her eyes locked to Stacie, she no longer had questions in hers. They were doing this. 

“I vow myself and my immortal being to you. To be used at your command, at your request, at your pleading.” Aubrey’s voice shook at she repeated the words she had only read and never head spoken aloud before. Her fangs sunk in to Stacie’s left wrist and she tasted the blood of her mate. She tasted the salt and the iron that made up what she would never stop caving from the woman she had become addicted to. 

“Aubrey.” Stacie moaned out at the wave of pleasure instead of pain that the bite brought her. 

Aubrey just looked at her, wrist still pressed to her lips. She guided it down to rest against Stacie for a moment while she slit her own wrist. Carefully she pressed them together, their blood mixing freely. 

“What I have done, can never be undone but by death himself.” Aubrey whispered as both felt heart start in their belly and rush across each nerve. She licked both of their wrists to seal them, feeling a rush from tasting Stacie’s blood. 

Stacie wiped Aubrey’s tears when she moved off of her and tucked herself into her side. Aubrey rarely had reason to show such human weakness as tears but in this moment the moment itself consumed her. 

“We can never take that back.” Aubrey rested her head against Stacie’s shoulder. She felt herself change in a second, she felt the monster that she was settle in a way she had never felt before. Sated and and calm now that it was no longer alone. The monster in her and the beast in Stacie now linked forever. 

“I never will wish we could.” Stacie felt tears of her own at just how good it felt to be connected to Aubrey with no way to ever be disconnected. “Rest Aubrey, just rest for now.” 

Aubrey closed her eyes as she felt into the deepest slumber she had ever experienced before. She didn’t dream, she didn’t stir for hours, she just laid there in Stacie’s arms and slumbered. 

It was just after three in the morning when Aubrey’s eyes fluttered open. Stacie had added more wood to the fire about an hour before, casting the room in a soft orange glow. 

“You’ve never fallen asleep next to me before. Not in your room, not when we had to travel with the Bellas.” Stacie was laying on her side facing Aubrey. “I was worried you didn’t survive tasting my blood, you kinda look dead when you sleep.”

Aubrey just moved deeper into Stacie’s embrace as her right hand traced down her spine and back up again. “Are your forgetting the fact that I technically am undead?”

Stacie shifted enough so that Aubrey could tuck her head under her own. “I do forget that sometimes.” She admitted, her hand resting in the middle of her mate’s back. “Not that you’re a vampire but the undead part. And then I don’t feel a heartbeat or your chest doesn’t rise and fall when you’re sitting there reading.”

“We need to talk about what we did. What I did to you.” Aubrey’s voice was soft as her fingers kept a steady path up and down Stacie’s spine. 

“You became my mate and I became yours.” Stacie whispered. “I promised you a lifetime and you made sure that lifetime would be as long for me as for you. Yeah we need to talk about kids and family and what this means for you and me, but I’m not going to lay here in my mate’s arms and debate with you if you not having to bury me because of old age was the right move or not.” 

Aubrey cupped the back of Stacie’s neck, moving her own head up to pull her into a kiss. Her fangs were down but the point of the kiss wasn’t pleasure. It was reassurance. She needed Stacie to understand that she was not unsure of what they did but she needed the reassurance of planning for the life they now shared.

“I am not saying what you and I did deserves to be placed among my regrets.” Aubrey gripped the back of Stacie’s neck a little harder to remind her she wasn’t the only powerful being in their bed. “But there are things we need to talk about. I understand you’re nearly under the pull of the moon that will rise tomorrow, can you handle this conversation?” 

Stacie grunted but bent her head to nuzzle against Aubrey’s neck. “You’re right.” She pulled her head back to rest it on her pillow. “We do need to talk.”

Aubrey kept her hand on the back of Stacie’s neck as a reminded that in this form she had a major upper hand. 

“I am happy, Anastasia.” Aubrey used Stacie’s full first name. “I am very happy that you and I are bound together, that we’re mates. I need you to understand that. I need you to understand I could have told you no. I had a choice and I bit you of my own free will.”

Stacie made a face at hearing Aubrey call her Anastasia. But it still sounded better to her than hearing it from anyone else. “I like it when you call me Louve better.”

“I know.” Aubrey tucked a bit of hair behind Stacie’s ear. “Nothing you could have done would have forced my hand, Louve. Trust me.”

“I do.” Stacie whispered. “There are things we haven’t told each other that I think it’s time we do.”

“Hiding things from me?” Aubrey could sense though the connection they had that there were things Stacie had kept from her. Her only question was how terrible those things were.

“Yes.” Stacie admitted. “Family things and past things I’ve done. Not now things or fucking around on you things.” She had never had to be faithful before, never set herself up for it to matter if she went to bed with the same person or not. But the moment she and Aubrey talked at two am in the kitchen at the start of the semester, she stopped hunting for her next conquest and waited for Aubrey to take her to bed. 

“I have those to.” Aubrey leaned in to nuzzle her neck, her fangs scrapping against the spot she could now bite down freely whenever she wanted. “Do you mind if I bite you first before you share? Feeding from your wrist means everything but it doesn’t taste as sweet.”

Stacie moved to her back to let Aubrey move on top of her. The idea of having Aubrey feed from her led to a chill running down her spine in the best of ways. 

“Tilt your head right so I can bite the left side.” Aubrey whispered.

“You had Chloe go left.” Stacie did as she was told.

“Chloe isn’t my mate or the one I wanted to be. It would have meant something I didn’t mean.” Aubrey explained as she laid on top of Stacie with an arm on each side of her. 

“Fair enough.” Stacie rested her hands on her hips as she felt Aubrey’s lips against her skin. “You can charm me if you need to.” 

Aubrey bite down, putting her fangs into Stacie’s neck for the first time. She wasn’t sure why or how or even if it mattered but the blood from her neck tasted so much sweeter than her wrist. She gulped twice before sealing her neck, choosing to close it in a way the two bite marks would stay a little raised. Everyone would see that Stacie belonged to her. She wouldn’t have been able to admit it if asked but she felt a surge of pride at the sight of the marks. 

Stacie hummed as Aubrey slid off of her. She hadn’t felt the charm before but she could feel it now, making her limbs feel a bit heavy and her tongue loose. “I meant before you bit, not after.” She spoke with a slight mumble mouth as the words slid out almost lazily. 

“I thought it might help you to tell me the things you need if you were more relaxed.” Aubrey settled back in her lover’s arms with the taste of her fresh on her lips. 

Stacie didn’t speak for a long moment, so long that Aubrey thought she may have fallen to sleep. Finally Stacie’s eyes opened to look into Aubrey’s. 

“My parents are doing pretty well now but growing up we were far from it. Dad did a series of odd jobs to try and make money but we got kicked out of a lot of apartments and most of my childhood before middle school we had to live off the assistance of the pack. I’ve slept on floors, in hallways, in the back of a pick up truck a few times and seven to a bed. Dad finally found steady work to supplement the cleaning jobs Mom did right before I started middle school. ” Stacie carried some amount of shame in how her family lived when she was growing up. 

“When I got to high school, my freshman year I was picked on a lot. I didn’t have the tits yet and I was shy for an Alpha. My sister was already out of school by then so she wasn’t there to protect me.” Stacie closed her eyes, her forehead against Aubrey’s. “Things changed between freshman and sophomore year. I grew almost four inches, my tits came in, I had mowed lawns all summer so I added some muscle and had enough money to buy some clothes that were name brand. I was always smart but I learned to play dumb really well.” 

“My sister worked at the local strip club and got the owner to give me a job serving drinks. We both gave our parents half of what we made which meant at the end of the month we could split a couple pizzas instead of getting collection calls. Things got a little easier when Mom got a job working for a local bakery. Dad moved to a different department and got a bit of a raise too. They finally got a car that didn’t need a push start. And I got to quit the strip club right after Christmas my senior year. Sam stopped stripping when she got mated to a guy who came in one night because his brother was having his stag party and fell for her.” Stacie explained as her fingers tapped against Aubrey’s hip. 

“When I got into Barden I promised myself I was going to leave who I was behind. I became the girl who liked cuticle care and the E Network full time. The girl who slept with college guys because they would buy me dinner first sometimes and it saved me from buying things myself so I could save money. My motorcycle was a gift of the pack after they saw how well I had done, a bunch of them chipped in. I had been talking about it for years and I think it was there way to telling me to get the hell out of our town to save myself.” Stacie finished telling her story.

Aubrey had never wanted because of a lack of money. She had never gone to bed hungry or unsure of what her family would do if a bill wasn’t paid. They had deep pockets that her mother had made sure would last for centuries to come. Hearing that Stacie had lived a life she knew nothing about didn’t upset her because she hadn’t been told, it upset her because Stacie shouldn’t have had to go through it. 

“I do not know if you or they would allow it but I would like to assist them. Enough to pay off their home or find them one that they can live comfortable in.” Aubrey felt a desire to do something to assist her mate’s family. 

“You’re too late there.” Stacie whispered. “Cain, Sam’s mate already did that last summer. His family owned land with some houses on it. They live in one of them. It’s pretty nice honestly.” She sometimes wondered if Sam mated for love or security. Cain’s family was nothing close to Aubrey’s but they were solidly upper middle class.

“Maybe a vacation though?” Stacie thought out loud.

Aubrey trailed her fingers over her mate’s arm as she thought of it. “My family owns a lot of land and places in France. A few phone calls and they would have a week or two they would never forget. Every wish would be attended to.” 

Stacie thought about it, kissing her mate’s forehead and nodded at the idea. “I have to know, Bree, how well off is your family?” 

Aubrey would have snorted if Stacie didn’t tell her all she just had. “Extremely.” She didn’t know the truth depths of her family’s money but she knew her own very well. “We’ll have to sit down when we’re back to Bella House to go over the finer details but I have a trust fund solely in my name that I would like to put your name on with mine. There is enough in there that we’ll both be well taken care of and I still have access to a family account that has far more in it.” 

Stacie’s eyes shut knowing that all the habits she picked up about money would be hard to unlearn even with a bank card in her wallet to a magic vault of cash. “I’m going to need you to put a limit on me. For my own sanity. $100 a week, $500 a week, I don’t care what it is. But if you give me access and no limits I am going to be scared to touch anything even if you’ll see when I pull out money.”

The pleading in Stacie’s voice was enough to break Aubrey’s heart. “Alright, when we get back to Bella House we’ll figure all of this out. I don’t have the numbers all in my head.” She smoothed her partner with a little more charm to ease her mind. 

Stacie closed her eyes as a wave of the charm hit her. “I work so hard to make my former pack proud of me. I want to show them all they did to help us was worth it. That I’m worth it.” She whispered as her fingers tangled with Aubrey’s as she let the charm wash over her. “This year has been a lot easier with Sam and her mate making it so Mom and Dad didn’t have a mortgage. The money I make I can save and living at Bella House makes things cheaper. I haven’t been acting, things are just finally easier and I’ve tried to let go of past pain and just finally be me.”

Aubrey played with the short hair at the back of Stacie’s neck. “The person you are when you and I are alone is why I fell in love with you. It’s why I wear your mark and you wear mine. That person has been out in the open more this year, more relaxed and less openly sexual in the name of attention. Now I know where those behaviors come from.” She kissed her mate, letting it linger. 

“I told you about my family, will you tell me about yours?” Stacie asked, having heard about Alex and basically no one else. 

Aubrey closed her eyes at the request before opening them again. “My mother was born during the reign of Louis the Six of France. For hundreds of years she went around Europe and had children and waged wars in the streets under the cover of darkness. She took lives and money and anyone who stood against her had their body left to the rats.” She looked into Stacie’s eyes as she spoke, needing to see her favorite shade of green. 

“I have two dozen siblings from her and most of long dead, killed in her wars. A few still linger in Europe or over here and live like royalty that she always thought herself to be. Alex and I are a product of her finally falling in love with a young army officer. She had never gave a man her mark before my father. She marked him after a decade together, feeling that if he could tame her without her burning him for the crime of doing so she must really love him. Alex was born thirteen years after she marked him and I was born two years after that. She tries very hard to remember that she can’t solve every problem with murder. But she also leads the largest clan of vampires on the east coast so there are times a rogue vampire needs to be put down. And under the laws we follow it is allowed.” Aubrey made a face at the nature of those laws but they were out of her hands.

“When we go home, when you meet them, you may meet Caleb. Do not trust him. He is old and he is cunning and he wants my to pay for being my mother’s favorite. A position that he held for a long time.” Aubrey warned her mate of her brother’s ways. 

“I won’t let him get to me. I’m your mate and no one else matters to me.” Stacie shifted closer so she could hold her more firmly. 

Aubrey moved so she could hear Stacie’s heart beat as it was always a comfort. “I love them but other than Alex and my parents I don’t think of the rest of them as family. Nothing more than an obligation when we’re near to fain interest in. They will, if I have my way, never be a factor in our lives together.”

Stacie kissed the crown of her head. “Somehow knowing your family bullshit, you knowing mine, it makes me feel more relaxed. I was sure when I told you about mine that you’d have more of a reaction than let’s give your parents money. I shouldn’t have but people always look at me with pity when it comes to my family if they know.”

“I don’t pity your family.” Aubrey shook her head slightly. “I do not mean to belittle the pain growing up caused you, the pain you still carry, but I would rather not have my family money and have love instead.” 

Stacie couldn’t argue that love was never something they were in short supply on. “We talked family and money without anyone crying or cussing in anger.” She pressed her hand to Aubrey’s hip. 

“I think we’re handling this very maturely.” Aubrey had to admit that she expected them to have had sex at least twice by now but there was so much to say to each other that for the moment their desires were put on hold. 

“Do you want kids?” Stacie asked after adding more wood to the fire and returning to their bed. It was something she always thought about as a possibility but with Aubrey she had no idea if it was.

“Very much. I don’t know why with the kind of family history I have. But one day I would like to raise a family.” Aubrey laid on her side with her head propped up against her hand, Stacie mirroring her. 

“How does that work? Can you carry?” Stacie asked, knowing painfully little about vampire reproduction. 

“Ideally you’d carry.” Aubrey chuckled. “If you want me to be the one to get you pregnant.”

“Wait.” Stacie’s eyes narrowed just a little. “How would that even work?”

Aubrey opened her mouth to let her fangs slowly draw down before retracting them. “There are ways for me to bite you and nine months later a child be born that is as much mine as it is yours. It would be a girl since I don’t have a Y in my DNA. Male vampires can do it too but most rather father children the alternative way.”

“Should I get like fang condoms or something?” Stacie couldn’t help but smirk just a little bit. 

“Hardly. It takes effort on my part to make it happen. And as both of us are still in college it would be premature to start a family right now. But one day if you’re willing to be the one to carry, I would like a family with you.” Aubrey reached over to press her hand against Stacie’s middle. 

“Yes.” Stacie said without delay. “One day, in like a decade.”

“Could be a few decades. You stop aging when I do around twenty-five. You’ll be able to have children pretty much as long as we’re alive.” Aubrey informed her. 

“Awesome, PMS for the rest of eternity.” Stacie snorted as her hand moved to rest over Aubrey’s. 

“Being at the Bella House with all of you has made it very clear to me that I made the right choice to take Chloe up on the offer for the master bedroom. At least down there I can rub something under my nose for the rare occasions I need to breath.” Aubrey chuckled. 

“What does the smell of blood from that many women in a house do to you vampires?” Stacie had never dared to ask but sort of wondered what it did. 

“Reminds me I’m hungry mostly.” Aubrey snorted. “It’s thinned out with other fluids so it’s less of a dinner bell than people would assume. On top of that, most vampires are picky about what types of blood they want. Jessica likes O+, Ashley likes AB- and I have always liked A+, which you are.” 

“You can tell that?” Stacie raised an eyebrow.

“Vampires can tell a lot of things from a person’s blood. Human medical science is advanced but a gulp of blood and I can tell things even the best labs can’t always. Some labs do employ vampires but it’s still fairly uncommon.” Aubrey explained. 

Stacie stroked her thumb against Aubrey’s wrist. “You’re graduating in a few months.”

“I am.” Aubrey agreed. “And already took my LSATs over the summer and I’m applying to law schools already. Barden’s law school is the top ranked option in Georgia.”

“You going to law school at Barden means we get to still live together.” Stacie grew excited at the thought Aubrey and she may be able to sleep together every night and wouldn’t be forced to do long distance. 

“The Bellas would have to vote on allowing me to stay living in the house. According to our charter it’s allowed if a Bella is in grad school or the like.” Aubrey had already thought of that. 

“And only you and Chloe are graduating but I can’t see her leaving either. So honestly even if we added a Bella or two we have the room.” Stacie’s mind already was turning. 

“Chloe is looking at options to stay local too.” Aubrey confirmed. 

“Beca would be lost without her.” Stacie said as if she wouldn’t be lost without her mate. 

“Someone has to keep her in line.” Aubrey agreed. 

For a moment Stacie just looked at Aubrey and felt the bond more alive than ever. They were mated, they shared the pasts both had kept from the other out of shame and fear and to protect the other. Now that things were in the open both women seemed to be at peace. 

“It’s about to be dawn and I always wondered what it would be like to make love to you as the sun came up.” Stacie whispered as her eyes grew a shade or two darker.

“I see no reason to wonder any longer.” Aubrey shifted forward to press her lips to Stacie’s. 

—————

As the sun rose higher in the sky, Chloe slowly opened her eyes. It was just after nine in the morning, she had to be downstairs by ten to get the turkey prepared and in the oven. 

Beca was laying next to her, head turned away from her, brown hair covering the pillow and sticking up in all directions, shirt half way up her torso, blankets at her waist. 

She was beautiful, Chloe couldn’t help but think. And hers. Or she was Beca’s. But really they were each others. Chloe bent down her head to press soft kisses along Beca’s jaw, a hand slowly pressing against her hip. 

Beca hummed softly as she woke up. It was like being lifted out of a pool of warm water and wrapped in a warm blanket. Her eyes opened, finding her favorite shade of blue looking back at her. 

“I like waking up like this.” Beca sighed as reached a hand out to stroke over Chloe’s cheek. 

“I usually wake up before you.” Chloe bent down to press their lips together. “I can wake you up like this every morning if you want.” 

Beca leaned up to kiss her one more time before settling back against her pillow. She looked up at her mate, feeling like her heart was going to explode right in her chest from how full it was. “You spoil me.”

Chloe gave a shy smile before laying back down with her head on Beca’s shoulder. “I like making sure you know how how happy I am that I’m your mate.” She took advantage that Beca’s shirt was still ridden up a little to press her hand to the smooth skin. “Every night.”

“I am pretty happy with it myself.” Beca beamed at the idea that Chloe was her mate, that she landed someone as extraordinary as Chloe Beale. Though Chloe was right to point out they had been together pretty much every night since they became mates. “I know I’ve been pretty constantly dragging you to bed at night so we can be together but you know you can tell me no, right?”

Chloe turned her head to press a kiss to Beca’s jaw. “You aren’t dragging me to bed.” She refuted softly. “We’re having a lot of sex, sure, but it’s because we’re happy, Becs. I’ve ever read the mark changes your hormone levels to make this happen so couples bond more.”

Beca rested her head against Chloe’s. “I don’t want to be the kind of Alpha who has a mate that feels pressured. You’re a person before you’re my mate and I’m your Alpha, who is meant to protect you as much as anyone else in my pack.”

Chloe trailed her fingers over Beca’s skin. “I promise you are nothing like the Alpha’s you are worried about. You and Stacie are really, really good at making sure we’re all taken care of. Between her cooking a lot of the pack dinners and you making sure everyone is home at the end of the night, it’s been really nice how things have shaped up.”

Beca’s chest puffed out a bit with pride at Chloe thinking things had been going well. She and Stacie talked about things fairly often but both liked to hear from the others they really were doing a good job of leading their pack. Even if most of what they did overlapped with the two Bella’s captains. “Thank you. We’ve tried pretty hard not to step on your and Aubrey’s toes.”

Chloe nuzzled her neck, feeling Beca playing with her hair just the way she liked her to. “If it wasn’t you and Stacie I think there might be more tension.” She admitted. “But Aubrey and I have talked about how well things have worked so far. And if Aubrey had an issue with it, you’d know.”

“She’d tell Stacie if she had a real problem. I would just get the eyebrow raise she does and maybe a flash of her fangs if I really pissed her off.” Beca chuckled. 

“If Aubrey bares her fangs at you, just stand there and take it. You’re already a dead woman.” Chloe laughed. 

Beca pouted. “You wouldn’t protect me?” 

Chloe just laughed. “I would make sure you had the most beautiful funeral.” 

“Oh I see how it is.” Beca just rolled her eyes but smiled as they both tilted their heads to share a sweet kiss. 

The quiet that settled over them was comforting. Chloe spied a look at the time to make sure she wasn’t needed downstairs yet. “I have twenty more minutes before I need to get the turkey ready.”

“My second favorite meal of the year.” Beca shifted a little, her arm settling around Chloe’s waist. 

“What’s your favorite?” Chloe asked.

“Christmas ham with all the fixings.” Beca groaned a little at the thought of it. “Mom makes it every year. Even after Dad left. It’s my favorite meal, just sitting there with a table and the big ham in the middle, calling my name.”

Chloe laughed at the passion in Beca’s voice over the Christmas ham. “We always had roast duck.” She grinned before it slowly started to fade as the thought that she wouldn’t go back to Portland this year for Christmas. She wouldn’t go back there again to her parent’s house. “I guess I won’t have it this year.” She cuddled a little deeper against Beca as the thought over took her.

Beca looked down at her mate, seeing the way she had pressed more firmly against her side. “You and I can go see my mom, that will be nice right? Dad has already met you and he likes you a lot. Mom and you should meet so she can get to know you too.” She tried to make it better for her mate.

“I don’t really have a home anymore, do I?” Chloe whispered. 

“You have Bella House and one day after we’re done here you’re going to have our apartment and then one day our house.” Beca said in a firm tone. “No matter what, I am your Alpha so you have a home where I do. Even if you weren’t my mate, I would owe you that as your Alpha.”

“I really love you.” Chloe still felt a bit adrift but Beca had solved the problem of where Christmas would be this year. 

“Losing your parents and siblings is difficult but you have our pack, you have me. We’re family, you and I are mates, and that means you’re not alone. We have the chance to build something really good together, the Bellas after us can join our pack too, we can grow it.” Beca took her commitment to the pack seriously even if it still made her nervous to have a full pack’s welfare on her and Stacie’s shoulders. 

Chloe breathed out slowly as she tried to let go of the feelings about how things happened. She had been happier since she broke away from her. The fear she lived with for so long slowly fading from the back of her mind. “I really, really am glad you became a Bella.”

“And I am really, really glad you crashed my shower.” Beca smiled down at her. 

“I had to know who had that voice.” Chloe let out a laugh. “You don’t mind anymore when I crash your showers.”

“Nope. I do not.” Beca shook her head before nudging Chloe to get up. “Let’s go have coffee before the turkey gets stuffed.” She got out of bed before helping Chloe up. 

They made it down to the kitchen just as Stacie and Aubrey were coming in from their night in the cabin. Stacie looked like she hadn’t gotten much sleep, Aubrey looking more relaxed than Chloe had ever seen her. 

“We didn’t expect you two until later in the day.” Chloe raised her eyebrow as Beca made a pot of coffee. 

“I wanted to help with the meal.” Aubrey and Stacie held hands as the pair stood close together. Stacie had taken her motorcycle to the cabin the day before so it was a short drive back. She packed them an overnight bag too to save them from needing to shower and change when they got back. 

“So thoughtful.” Stacie smiled, using her left hand to ran a hand though her hair. 

“Wait.” Chloe grabbed Stacie’s wrist when she saw the marks. “Aubrey Chase Posen.” She narrowed her eyes playfully at her best friend. “I can’t believe you did that but I am so, so happy.” She let Stacie’s wrist go to pull Aubrey into a hug. 

“What am I missing?” Beca asked, not sure what Chloe was hugging Aubrey and nearly in tears over. 

“I marked Aubrey last night and she did the same to me.” Stacie explained, flashing her wrist. “It’s permeant. Like until death do us part.” She still couldn’t believe what happened between them but the idea that they were fully bonded made Stacie grin like an idiot. 

Aubrey rubbed down Chloe’s back. Had she been anyone else’s mate she would worry about Beca getting the wrong idea about the way she and Chloe interacted but thankfully Beca was secure enough to understand there was nothing between them romantically. “She makes me so happy, Chlo.” She whispered, feeling her bond with Stacie as sure as she did when they held hands. 

Chloe pulled back with tears in her eyes at the feeling of her best friend so happy. “This is cause for celebration.” 

She walked over to where she kept the good stuff and poured four shots, making Stacie’s a double. Aubrey would have to bite Stacie to get the effect of hers after all, she might as well give Stacie a little more so she felt it too. 

“To finding happiness, love and music.” Chloe said before they all threw their shots back. 

Aubrey turned to Stacie once she had tilted her head in a welcoming way. Normally she wouldn’t do this in front of others but Beca and Chloe weren’t other people, they were closer than she was to anyone else. She took a gulp, tasting the alcohol already in a way only her kind could. She took her time licking over the marks to seal them, feeling a little more bold than she would normally feel even in front of the two other werewolves. 

“I will never get tired of you doing that.” Stacie leaned against her mate a little more as she soaked up the pleasure that came with being bitten. 

“Having it done twice was pretty intoxicating.” Chloe had to admit. 

“Let me see how they healed?” Aubrey asked. When Chloe turned her head she let out a bark of laughter. 

Beca had bitten over the twin marks, putting her own teeth to use to make sure the holes were filled by her larger canines. 

“She is my mate.” Beca smirked, her arm snaking around Chloe’s waist. “I needed to make sure once you were safely back here and wouldn’t need blood from her again that she remembered that.”

“Cute.” Aubrey snorted as she leaned against Stacie. “Seriously though, thank you for what you did that weekend.” She had thanked Chloe more than a few times for letting her feed on her and she would do so as she felt she needed going forward. 

“Thankfully going forward I have an option that doesn’t require two extra people in the room.” Aubrey looked up at Stacie. 

Stacie bent down and kissed Aubrey, still able to taste a little of her blood on her mate’s lips. “Love you.” She whispered against her lips. 

“Love you too.” Aubrey whispered before pulling back. “You and Beca should go watch the parade or something. Chloe and I have a lot of work to do.” 

“Bec and I can help you know.” Stacie pouted at the idea of being sent away. 

“Nope. Go on, we’ve got this covered. It’s Bree and my last time to make Thanksgiving in this kitchen.” Chloe kissed Beca before patting her butt and sending her to the living room with coffee. 

Beca pouted all the way to the couch, Stacie holding a mug of coffee walking behind her. She sat in the middle of the couch, cuddling in to Stacie’s side once she sat down. Now that the pack had been created and had time to settle in, cuddling between nearly any grouping of two or more wasn’t at all uncommon. 

“Cheer up.” Stacie put her feet up on the coffee table after flipping the parade on. “Our mates are making us Thanksgiving dinner and we get to watch TV and cuddle. How is this not a win?” 

“I can’t kiss you.” Beca pouted even as she cuddled against Stacie’s side while sipping her coffee. 

“Nope, but you can go get more coffee after that cup and get a few kisses from Chloe when you do.” Stacie reminded her.

It was almost comical how much Beca perked up at that. 

—————

The kitchen really was Aubrey and Chloe’s domain at the moment. The turkey was already in the oven, the prep work on all of the side dishes was well underway. The house was starting to smell like Thanksgiving as the pair heard the TV from the other room playing holiday music. 

“This is going to be our last time doing this.” Chloe said as she tore bread to make the base for the dressing for the turkey. 

“As undergraduates.” Aubrey agreed. “If I go to law school and you find a graduate program, we could still live in this house and do this until Beca and Stacie are finished.”

“I have to find a program to be accepted into it to be able to stay here.” Chloe still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after she finished her double major in Russian lit and biology. 

“You’ll find something that peaks your interest.” Aubrey was sure the idea of staying in this house with her mate would push Chloe to get serious about finding a program to apply for. 

Chloe tossed the bread in the oven to dry out before she turned back to Aubrey, wiping her hands on a dish cloth. “That’s everything for a while.”

Aubrey sat down at the kitchen table, watching Chloe take a seat on the other side. Her best friend had questions, she could see them in Chloe’s eyes. “Go on, ask them.”

Chloe sipped her coffee for a moment as she tried to find the right words. “You swore to me once you’d never do this. Never mark someone with your way of doing it.”

“That’s not a question.” Aubrey pointed out. 

“Are you as happy on the inside as you look on the outside?” Chloe asked.

Aubrey chuckled at the question. It was such a Chloe thing to ask and the vampire loved her for it. “I am. I haven’t felt this much at peace maybe ever.”

Chloe reached across the table to rest her hand on top of Aubrey’s. The touch linking the pair together for the moment. She could sense serenity in Aubrey that rarely happened, a sense of belonging. “You said something about a ceremony?” She asked.

“Sharing a glass of blood wine at dusk.” Aubrey nodded. It was a small part of what would typically happen if they had a full ceremony but it was the only part that Aubrey cared to carry out. 

“Blood wine?” Chloe questioned.

“Made from grapes grown in soil watered with the blood of the dead. It’s the only form of alcohol that can get a vampire drunk without biting a human. It’s something I can drink and the three of you can have whatever you want. But it’s very hard to get in the states and I have only the half bottle Alex left here when she graduated. It’s downstairs in the blood cooler.” Aubrey explained. 

“So after dinner once dusk hits but before we have to go for the full moon we’ll go outside and have a drink together.” Chloe smiled at the thought of the two pairs of mates sharing a moment together like that. 

“We grew up, Chlo.” Aubrey looked at her best friend. “It leaves me a bit in awe really, the thought that we ended up finding mates who we get to spend the rest of our lives with growing with.”

Chloe looked at their joined hands a moment, feeling the truth in the words even without the connection to allow her to feel it. “When I came here I did it to get away from my parents and siblings. But somehow I found my very best friend and my mate in the processes. I found a pack and a sense of belonging I’ve never before.”

“We’ll always be pack mates, Bellas and family, Chlo. Always.” Aubrey allowed herself to be tugged up by Chloe, hugging her tightly when the redhead stepped in to her arms. 

—————

“That looks like squid ink.” Beca looked at the wine glass Aubrey held as she came outside to sit next to Stacie. The four of them used the often talked about but little used fire ring in the backyard to have a small fire. 

“Tastes nothing like it.” Aubrey still wasn’t a fan of the idea of fire but being around Stacie, the contact with her skin soothing her from the panic that sometimes set in when she saw it. “It’s almost sweet.”

“I’ll stick to my beer, thanks.” Beca leaned against Chloe as much as she could with two arm rests between them from their chairs. 

Stacie looked over at Aubrey, the wolf in her chest already prepared to leap out and transform. For now she held it back but in the next hour she would have little choice but to give in to her desire to transform. She could fight it more than she was tonight but Aubrey had tired her out in the early hours this morning. 

“Another hour or so.” Chloe looked up at the sky. “We could say here and take the tea if you two didn’t want to leave to go out there tonight.” She offered to the two Alphas. 

“No.” They replied. 

“Aubrey is capable of taking watch over us.” Stacie shook her head. “If we were going to drink the tea we should have by now anyway.”

“I want to transform and run around the field with you both.” Beca’s hand slipped into Chloe’s. “Less worrying about the others in the pack, more running after a ball or two if Aubrey would throw us some or whatever.”

Aubrey just sipped her wine, knowing she could only have the glass if she was going to keep watch. Though one was enough with how little she was accustomed to drinking. 

A stick snapped near the side of the house. Before the four could turn to see who or what made the sound a woman stepped into the light from the back porch. She was a bit older than the four of them, her blond hair in a pony tail. A pair of dark jeans, boots and a leather jacket finished the look off. 

“How about one more for the watch?” She grinned at the four of them. 

“Alex?” Aubrey and Chloe said at the same time. 

“How didn’t we hear you?” Aubrey questioned. 

Alex just walked closer, chuckling at her younger sister. “It serves me well to keep the element of surprise. I’ve learned how to mask my scent and walk without alerting even those of us with excellent hearing.”

Aubrey stood and hugged her tightly. Alex had an inch or two on her but they looked very much like the kin they were. Down to the same shade of green eyes and shape of their nose. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I missed you.” Alex said, telling the truth in part. 

Chloe waited her turn but was nearly bouncing up and down as she did. 

“Hello Chloe.” Alex pulled out a pack of two peanut butter cups from her pocket. “For a long life and many successful hunts.” She handed the candy over before accepting the hug she knew she was coming. 

“Thank you, Alex.” Chloe hugged her tightly. Alex was the big sister that she always wished Abby was. 

“I should thank you for feeding Aubrey when she needed it.” Alex pulled back. She laughed when she saw the mark as Chloe turned her neck. 

“Beca just wanted to leave me a reminder after Bree didn’t need me anymore for my blood.” Chloe grinned. 

“You must be Beca Mitchell.” Alex smiled at the young Alpha after Chloe pulled back. “Aubrey mentioned that you and her mate started a pack together. Thank you for making sure my sister could join it as well as the other two vampires and the human Bella. As a former captain of the Bellas I do often wonder how bonded you all are. Seeing the pack form brought some joy to me.” 

Beca felt her face go red as she got to her feet. “Thanks.” She managed to say. “Aubrey and Chloe talk about you a lot. In a really good way.”

Alex just chuckled. “I was their captain when they first got here and Aubrey and I are sisters. I’m sure it’s not all good.” She teased a bit. 

Alex’s eyes turned next to the Alpha standing at her sister’s side. Tall, strong by the looks of her and wearing her sister’s bite on her wrist and neck. 

“Stacie Conrad.” Stacie held her hand out before Alex could say a word. 

“I know who you are.” Alex stood her hand. “My sister bite you this morning. I was sent down shortly after.”

“Mother doesn’t need to send you to check up on me. Under Clan rules I do not need her permission to take a mate.” Aubrey protested. 

“I’m not here on Mother’s orders.” Alex turned to look at her sister. “Daddy sent me to see why his little girl took a mate without so much as a letter home that you were thinking about marking someone.”

“It wasn’t a choice that we made without thinking about it.” Stacie’s hand was interlocked with Aubrey’s but she took a half step forward. “We planned to tell our families now that it’s been done.”

Alex chuckled. “I’m glad to now all Conrad’s have a spine to them.”

“You know my family?” Stacie asked.

“You look just like Sam.” Alex looked at her. “I met her a few years ago when I was sent to work out a treaty for a bit of land that your pack controlled by my mother between my first and second year at Barden. I met her while I was there for the summer.”

They all laughed when Chloe started to hum “It’s a Small World After All”.

“Come on.” Aubrey downed the rest of her wine. “Let’s get to the field so the three of you can transform.” It hadn’t been close to the hour they were planning to wait to head there but she and Alex needed to talk without the others around. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” Beca dumped a jug water on the small fire to put it out before the group started walking. 

Stacie made a face as Aubrey fell back to walk with her sister. She had a bad feeling about why Alex showed up so quickly after she and Aubrey had become mates.

“Daddy really sent you?” Alex asked, side to side with her sister as they walked.

“He and Mother want you and your wolf home for Christmas. I talked them out of having you come home during this break since it’s mostly over.” Alex explained as she wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders. 

“Time to face the family, I suppose.” Aubrey said, her fangs dropping out out of shear anger at being summoned like this.


	7. The Family Blanchet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time for the Bellas and oh what a Christmas it is. 
> 
> There will be a peak in at all the Bellas here but the focus is on Stacie and Aubrey, Beca and Chloe and Jessica and Ashley. Enjoy! 
> 
> As always, a thank you is due to G.

The time between the end of November and the end of December, right before everyone headed home for winter break, always moved too quickly for the Bellas. Each had their own classes to sit finals for plus the group was working on preparing their new number for semi finals. Aubrey had them doing at least two hours five days a week to try and get their voices stronger even if Beca and she were still working on what they would be singing at Semi’s this year. And until they knew that Chloe and Stacie had limited options on working everything through the dance moves for it. But they started working on different styles of dance to try to get everyone comfortable with whatever they might end up using in the end. 

The morning of the last production of the Barden production of “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, saw the Bellas all at practice before Jessica and Ashley had to head out to prepare. Aubrey shifted the practice times today by an hour so they would have extra time to prepare for tonight. The whole group of them would be going tonight to watch.

“Alright everyone.” Aubrey said as they were just about twenty minutes left. “Beca had an idea for how we can end practice.” 

Beca stood up and came around in front of everyone. “I’m still trying to work with Aubrey on the set for Semi’s. I thought we could try a few ideas on the fly and see how we do with it for a little fun.” It wasn’t the deepest idea in the world but it was a nice way to end practice. 

“What songs are we doing?” Emily asked. 

“Jess, why don’t you give us the first one and I’ll figure out the song to blend as we go?” Beca suggested. 

“The Hunter Brothers, When You Love A Girl.” Jessica smiled over at Ashley, who smiled back at her. It was their unofficial song, both having sung it to the other at different points in their relationship. 

Beca played the song on her phone for everyone before having then stand in a semi circle. She rolled out her neck as she prepared to do her thing on the fly. This was her favorite thing to do, test out new song ideas. It helped the rest of the Bellas were pretty good at both following her lead and knowing how to work as a group. 

“Jess, take lead?” Beca asked. 

Jessica nodded as she looked over to Ashley with a smile and then forward again. 

“My life was so simple when I was just living for me / Didn’t know I was missing, drumming to my own beat / But if life is a song, what's a song when there's no harmony? / Then you came along and you showed me how good it can be.” Jessica sang as her hand reached down, fingers tangling with Ashley. 

As everyone went to the chorus of the song Beca layered another on top of it, she watched as everyone smiled as they figured out how to split off to mash both together. She loved the way the group had already started to figure out how to work together. 

“Baby, let's stay home tonight / We can put a couple records on / We can build a fire alright / Maybe we can dance till dawn / Everything will be just fine / Don't even have to put clothes on / I can keep you warm inside / Baby, let's stay home tonight.” 

Beca guided them through blending both songs as everyone swayed to the music they were making. 

“That was pretty great.” Emily grinned, always liking the practices they go to experiment with singing. 

“We sound really good.” Cynthia-Rose agreed. “If we keep this up we’re going to be in New York this spring.” 

Beca had them do a few more. She needed to see different combinations of voices to try and figure out what she could do next to be able to top what they had already done. She didn’t want to use some of the ideas she didn’t go with from Regionals but instead come up with a new idea that they could really work with to show off the groups talents. 

“One more and we should let Jess and Ashley go to get ready.” Beca checked the time. “Aubrey, what’ve you got?”

“Bruno Mars, Just The Way You Are.” Aubrey said after thinking about it a second. Every time she heard it, it made her think of her mate. 

“Chloe, take lead?” Beca already figuring out how she wanted to do this one. 

Chloe smiled at her mate, wishing she could cuddle against her for this song but knowing that when Beca was in music mode she liked to focus. 

“Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shinin’ / Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin’ / She’s so beautiful, and I tell her everyday.”

Just like with the other attempts they all managed to find their parts without seemingly to have to think that hard about it. Something that brought a smile to all of their faces. 

“Uh, uh, I was thinkin' bout her, thinkin' bout me, thinkin' bout us, who we gon' be.” Beca sang to layer on top of what Chloe was singing before having Aubrey take it over.

“Opened my eyes, and it was only just a dream / It was only just a dream / When I see your face / There’s not a thing that I would change / ‘Cause you're amazing / Just the way you are / When I see your face / There’s not a thing that I would change / ‘Cause you're amazing / Just the way you are (it was only just a dream) / When I see your face (face).”

“We might need to use that one for our next event.” Chloe smiled, breaking away from the others as they all started to pack up to give her mate a kiss on to the jaw.

“You are amazing, just the way you are.” Beca smiled up at her, feeling dorky for saying it but knowing Chloe loved it when she was. 

Chloe beamed at her before pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You always make me feel like you believe that even if I don’t.” She held Beca’s hand as they walked over to grab their stuff to head back to the house. 

Once everyone was out of the practice space, Aubrey used her key to lock the door before turning to walk back with the group. She chuckled when she saw Benji walking over to Emily, having waited for her on a nearby bench. 

“Hey.” Benji smiled as he handed her a to go cup with her favorite hot chocolate in it. “Thought you might want something to warm up with.”

“You are the best boyfriend, ever.” Emily leaned up to kiss him. “Walk with us back home?” The Treble house was close by so it wasn’t too far out of his way. 

“Of course.” Benji walked Emily back almost every day, having a class that got out about thirty minutes before the ending of their usual practice time. Classes were all done with now though. “I have a Trebles meeting though so I can’t come in.” 

Their fingers tangled as they started to walk with the others, all chatting about their Christmas plans. All of them had somewhere to be this year, leaving the Bella House empty for a few weeks. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Stacie walked next to her mate, sensing something was on Aubrey’s mind as she trailed behind the others on the way back to Bella House. It wasn’t uncommon for one of the four leaders to trail a bit behind to make sure everyone was together but this felt different to the Alpha. 

“I’m thinking about Christmas and you coming home with me.” Aubrey explained. 

“I know your parents summoning us got under your skin.” Stacie trailed her thumb over Aubrey’s knuckles as they held hands. “But it’s our first Christmas together as mates. It’s not crazy that we’d go see your parents.”

Aubrey’s face stayed composed but the feelings she was sending through the bond towards Stacie showed off how nervous she was about the trip. “I just want the trip to happen without something bad happening.”

Stacie stopped them in the back yard of Bella House, waiting for everyone to go inside to give them a moment of temporary privacy. It wasn’t much but a house with that many werewolves could be a challenge to find the privacy they needed in the middle of the day.

“Whatever happens in Virginia, you and me? We’re going to be alright.” Stacie dropped her bag by her feet so she could pull Aubrey close to her, rubbing over her sides. 

Aubrey didn’t protest as she felt herself wrapped up by her mate. She breathed in to allow the scent to calm her, enjoying the crisp winter air along with it. “Alex told me the last time we spoke they were more curious than angry.” 

Stacie nuzzled her neck, both of them having a habit of doing that to the other when one or both were stressed. “This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to go inside and I’m going to heat up some leftover pizza. Then we’re going to go to our room and you’re going to have a snack because it makes you feel better even if you’re not super hungry. We can chill out before we have to get ready to go to the play tonight.”

Aubrey closed her eyes, holding Stacie a bit closer. “Is your plan to offer me blood anytime I am thinking about something unpleasant?”

“If it works, absolutely.” Stacie nipped at the mark on her neck before pulling back a bit. “Come on.”

Aubrey let Stacie tug her inside, finding that the fears she used to keep to herself did seem easier now that she had Stacie to share them with. She was still trying to get used to having more than Chloe as a support system though. But Stacie being insistent on her reaching out did help make her. 

“Is there pizza left?” Stacie asked, seeing the pack all sitting around the table eating some. 

“In the oven.” Chloe smiled. “We saved you a couple pieces, even though Beca swore you wouldn’t want any.”

“Way to throw me under the bus, babe.” Beca stuck her tongue out at her, laughing once it was back in her mouth. 

“I always want pizza.” Stacie grabbed the pizza out and plated it up before dropping into her usual seat next to Aubrey. 

The conversation was kept light as the wolves all ate their late lunch. Plans for Christmas was an easy conversation to have right now as everyone was getting excited. 

“I’m just bummed we won’t see you on your birthday, Stace.” Cynthia-Rose said. 

“All of us have to be to the airport before seven that morning.” Flo nodded. 

“Having a birthday on Christmas Eve Eve, you get used to all of this.” Stacie shrugged. “Aubrey and I are driving to Virginia that day anyway. So I get to spend my birthday with my mate and one of Beca’s playlists, what more could I want?” She laughed.

“Yeah, I’m almost done with that. I’ll text you the link when it’s done so you can download it.” Beca looked up from her plate with a grin.

“Thanks Becs.” Stacie smiled. 

“We should have a party for you when we get back. A late birthday party and a welcome back party all in one.” Cynthia-Rose suggested. 

“I am always down for a good reason to party.” Stacie chuckled. “Just have to clear it with Bree.” 

Aubrey looked up from her text thread she had with Alex to raise an eyebrow. “I have many powers in this world, stopping the Bellas from having a party if they want is not one of them.”

A round of laughter went around the table as they all agreed. 

————-

“You did so well!” Emily bear hugged Jessica after she and Ashley walked out to join the other Bellas. They waited for her, wanting to walk back together. 

“It was really good, Jess.” Chloe smiled from her place behind Beca, her arms wrapped around her mate’s waist.

“Thanks everyone.” Jessica smiled, her hand in Ashley’s who was beaming at her. “I’m glad you liked it. It was a challenge to do but I am really glad I did.”

“I watched every single show and you grew so much over the last few weeks.” Ashley leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I can’t wait to see you in the spring show.”

“What are they doing?” Aubrey asked as they started walking back. 

“Rent.” Jessica grinned. “I think I have a pretty good shot at one of the parts. At least I know I can sing pretty well.”

“Yeah, I think the singing part you have in the bag.” Beca laughed softly. 

“The music in Rent really is great.” Jessica smiled. She was too shy to go out for it when her high school had done it three years ago but she helped direct and helped with the music. She was much more confident in her singing at this point.

“We should totally do musicals one day at practice.” Emily looked excited at her own idea. “Like as a warm up or something.”

“I bet Aubrey and Stacie could do a great “Take Me or Leave Me”.” Ashley chuckled as they walked. 

“I have had a woman in rubber flirt with me before.” Stacie laughed at the look on Aubrey’s face. 

“There is nothing you say that can surprise me anymore.” Flo snorted as she turned to look at Stacie as they walked. 

“What can I say, I just draw people in.” Stacie looked over at Aubrey with a smirk. “Say something, anything.” She chuckled.

“Test one, two, three.” Aubrey said dryly but there was a hit of a smirk on her lips. 

“Anything but that." Stacie chuckled. 

“This is weird.” Beca sang. 

“It's weird.” Chloe added.

“Very weird.” Lily said just loud enough to be heard.

“Fucking weird.” Cynthia-Rose laughed. 

The group sang lines back and forth as they finished walking back to Bella House. Just before they reached their goal there was a shift in the air and light, very fine snow started to fall around them. Just enough to coat the grass and make everything look a bit magical. 

“I didn’t know it could snow down here.” Jessica looked around in a bit of wonder. Back home in Wisconsin she was used to waist high snow piles by now. 

“I haven’t seen it snow since I came down here.” Chloe smiled at the light covering everything was receiving. 

“Not nearly enough for a snowball fight but it looks really pretty.” Cynthia-Rose smiled at the way the trees looked like they sparkled in the moonlight. 

When they made it back to Bella House, Lilly plopped down in a patch of grass and made a snow angel in the light dusting that was there. It didn’t matter to her how much snow there was, it was magical regardless. After she was happy with the outline she got back to her feet with a happy smile on her lips, heading inside with the others. 

—————

Stacie woke up on her nineteenth birthday to the feeling of Aubrey tracing over her hip with the pads of her fingers. 

“Five more minutes.” She turned her head to press it to her girlfriend’s cool skin. “You had me up late last night.”

“I believe you were the one that had me up late.” Aubrey’s chuckled. 

“Trying to play semantics before coffee is rude.” Stacie pulled her head back, one eye opening to take the sight of her girlfriend in. The messy hair, a few marks from her nipping bites on her neck, the way that Aubrey looked almost relaxed even though they had to leave soon to drive up to Virginia and her family. 

“Coffee is on the night stand behind me.” Aubrey turned back and grabbed the mug, handing it over to Stacie after she sat up. 

“You are a saint.” Stacie breathed in the scent of the coffee before taking a careful sip. 

“I am many things but I am not a saint.” Aubrey laid back down to watch Stacie enjoy the coffee. 

“How much time do I have to enjoy the coffee and my naked mate before we have to shower and get on the road?” Stacie asked, enjoying the view of Aubrey she could see. 

“Not enough time for you to properly enjoy your mate.” Aubrey chuckled. 

“Bummer.” Stacie set her coffee in the cubby on the wall before shifting down to pull Aubrey against her. 

“Happy birthday.” Aubrey whispered, her arm coming to wrap around Stacie’s waist while she tangled their legs. 

“Thank you.” Stacie pressed a kiss to her mate’s forehead. “Waking up to you and coffee had made it a pretty great birthday so far.”

Aubrey smiled as she leaned forward to kiss across Stacie’s collarbone. “I talked to Alex last night before I came to bed. Mother and Daddy are having you stay in my bedroom. So at least we know they don’t totally disagree at the idea of us.”

“I can’t wait to see what little Aubrey Posen’s childhood bedroom looks like.” Stacie palmed Aubrey’s hip to keep her hand from starting something they didn’t have time to finish. 

“It’s nothing exciting. Books, a bed, a chair to curl up and read in, a desk. Some old school things.” Aubrey said. 

“Alex promised me when she was here to show me some photos that I will enjoy.” Stacie grinned. 

“Of course she did.” Aubrey snorted. 

“I am trying to just be excited. I get to meet your parents and spend more time with Alex.” Stacie explained. “Plus I want to get more out of her about how she and Sam know each other. I got the feeling there is more to the story than meeting once or twice.”

“I got the feeling there was history as well.” Aubrey nodded as she leaned back. “Have you asked Sam about it?”

“No. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew what kind of history there was.” Stacie and Sam were five years apart but they had always been close to each other. They could pass for twins most of the time with how they behaved towards each other and their shared style. 

“That’s smart.” Aubrey agreed. 

“I try it from time to time.” Stacie said seriously before breaking into a smile. 

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Of course you do, Miss Dean’s List.”

“You’re right there too.” Stacie pointed out. “You’re going to graduate summa cum laude if you keep it up.”

“It’s expected of me if I want to get into the law program.” Aubrey wanted to be able to stay here with Stacie. Even the thought of having to get an apartment off of campus felt far too removed from her mate. 

“Which you will and the Bellas will vote to let you live here.” Stacie kissed her jaw. 

“We might have to move to one of the other bedrooms.” Aubrey made a face. 

“Wait, why?” Stacie’s nose scrunched up. 

“If Beca and you are the two captains next year, she has as much right to this room as you do. You two would have to figure out who gets it.” Aubrey pointed out. 

Stacie made a face. “Remind me to bribe her before the end of the year.”

Aubrey just kissed her softly. 

—————

As they flew closer and closer to Seattle, Beca felt more and more nervous. Taking Chloe home to meet her mother felt as monumental as Chloe wearing her mark on her shoulder. 

“Honey.” Chloe looked over at Beca as she sat in the window seat. “You have to remember to breathe, ok?”

Beca made a face out the window before turning back to look at her mate. “When Dad left Mom was so broken up about it. I don’t want her to see how happy I am and have it made her sad.” She explained, resting her head on Chloe’s shoulder. 

“I hope she’ll be proud of you. For finding someone that you love and making the choice to be with them.” Chloe had no idea what they were going to find when they arrived in Seattle. Beca made her mom out to sound so broken up about the divorce. 

“I hope so.” Beca looked up when the sign to tell everyone to buckle up came on. “We’ll find out soon.”

After the plane safely landed, Beca and Chloe made their way to the baggage claim. They would be in Seattle for a total of ten days before heading back to Georgia. Beca insisted on carrying - or in this case wheeling - Chloe’s bag while Chloe grabbed their smaller carry ons. After getting a cab, Beca didn’t want her mom to have to drive in the middle of. morning traffic, they headed to her childhood home. 

The two story home looked every bit like it belonged in the suburbs just outside of Seattle. The freshly cut lawn and two large trees framed it perfectly. 

“Wow.” Chloe said as they stood outside the house. “This could be from a movie of someone’s idyllic childhood.” She teased her mate as they headed to the front door. 

Beca laughed softly as she used her key to open the front door. She didn’t notice the car parked in front of the house that was vaguely recognizable. 

“Mom?” Beca called. 

Beca and Chloe both looked at the other when they heard giggling coming from the kitchen. Beca breathed in, smelling a scent she knew but couldn’t place. 

“Todd, you naughty boy.” Susan laughed as she stood in the middle of her kitchen with a twenty-three year old man in her arms who was nibbling at her neck. 

“Mom?” Beca’s voice turned into a growl as she saw who was with her mother. “Todd? What the hell?” She looked at her high school weed dealer standing in her mother’s kitchen in a pair of boxers. 

“Oh Beca, honey, you are here.” Susan smiled as she moved out of Todd’s arms and readjusted her robe before walking over to her daughter to pull her into a hug. “Welcome home.”

Beca was stunned enough that she accepted the hug without saying another word. She closed her eyes before opening it again to see if she was in the middle of the weirdest dream of her life. 

“You must be Chloe.” Susan smiled at her daughter’s mate. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I am very excited to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Chloe slipped her hand into Beca’s as she felt like at any moment her mate was going to regain the ability to speak and murder the man itching towards the back stairs. “Thank you for having us for Christmas.”

“Why don’t the two of you head up to Beca’s room? I’m sure you want to get settled in.” Susan said, hoping to get her daughter upstairs without incident. 

Beca managed to keep her calm until her bedroom door was shut. She turned her head up and let out a growl that felt loud enough to shake the room. 

“What the fuck?” Beca asked no-one, even if Chloe was the only one in the room. “That guy is like twenty-three years old. I used to buy my weed from himin high school and now his scent is all over my mom!” She ran a hand through her hair after pulling it out of the ponytail she had it in. “What is she thinking hooking up with a wolf like him?” She paced back and forth in her room, Chloe watching from the bed. 

“Beca.” Chloe leaned back against her hands. “Maybe this is her way of getting herself to a better place since the divorce and you being out of the house?” She suggested, trying to find a way to calm her down.

“Then take a cooking class or like yoga or something.” Beca made a face before dropping down to sit next to Chloe on the bed. “I know it’s her life but his scent was all over the house.” She whispered, her head resting on her mate’s shoulder. 

“I know honey.” Chloe whispered as her arm came around Beca to wrap around her shoulders. “I’ve got you, alright?” She could tell the shock of it all had gotten to Beca but she hoped that the next week and a half went smoother than the first meeting. 

“Come on.” Beca stood up and put the suitcases on the bed. “Let’s unpack at least most of our stuff to give them time to do … whatever … before we go down and you can meet Mom for real.” She grumbled as she opened drawers to start putting some of her things away. 

Chloe opened her bag, grabbing out their bathroom bags. “At least we’re not in Portland with you having to pretend to like my parents.” She said as she looked over at Beca, giving her a small smile. 

“Oh God, that would be worse.” Beca snorted. “And pretending I didn’t want to rip Abby’s throat out. Or didn’t want to kick Ben in the nuts.”

“See, not so bad.” Chloe had come to terms with the life she left behind in Portland. The last month without her parents and siblings in it had been the most free she felt since coming to Georgia at eighteen. 

Beca had calmed down by the time they walked downstairs. She didn’t like the idea of her mom with someone nearly twenty years younger than she was but she knew becoming aggressive about it wasn’t going to do much other than getting them kicked out of her mother’s house for Christmas. 

“Todd is gone.” Susan had dressed now as she stood in the kitchen near the window. “He and I see each other from time to time.” She explained as she turned to face her daughter and effectively her daughter in law. 

“Of all the werewolves or humans or even vampires in Seattle, you go for Todd Walker?” Beca couldn’t help asking. 

“He’s not your father in every way that he could be.” Susan breathed out slowly. “And sometimes in my life I need to be reminded I haven’t hit middle age yet. I’m forty-four years old Beca, I have another hundred years ahead of me if I’m lucky. Todd isn’t the love of my life but he is a nice distraction.” 

“Distraction from what?” Beca asked. 

“The loneliness of well made plans falling apart.” Susan gave a weak smile before waving her hand. 

“Mom…” Beca whispered. 

“It’s alright honey. Nothing that happened between your father and I was your fault. He and I just grew to be different people than who we were when we made our plans. It does happen sometimes. But sometimes you find the person you’re meant to be with and you know when you’re still young.” Susan looked past Beca to Chloe. 

Beca turned to Chloe to give her a warm smile, her eyes still a little watery. Their hands slid into the other’s until they were standing side to side. 

“Mom, I’d like you to meet my mate, Chloe Beale. Chlo, this is my mom, Susan Mitchell.” Beca said. 

“It’s really nice to meet you.” Chloe held tight to Beca’s hand. “I know I said it before but thank you for having us for Christmas. It’s really nice of you.”

“The two of you are always welcome here.” Susan stepped forward to give both of them a hug. 

—————

Rick Harding waited for his daughter and the boy she was bringing home next to the baggage claim. He worked at a local shop fixing cars, truckers, motorcycles or whatever else people needed fixing that day. 

“Dad!” Emily grinned as she broke away from Benji to race to her father and give him a big hug. 

“Hi Emmy.” Rick smiled down at his little girl. “How was the flight?” 

“No bad. I still really hate flying but Benji was great. He kept telling jokes and holding my hand or rubbing my back to keep my calm when I got a little freaked out.” Emily smiled proudly at Benji when he joined them. 

“Benjamin Applebaum, Benji.” He felt his hand shaking a bit as he held it out to Rick. 

“Nice to meet you.” Rick shook his hand. “Emily tells us you’re a theater.”

“Yes sir, I want to go to New York after I graduate.” Benji nodded. 

“He’s really good Dad.” Emily looked at Benji and gave the slightly dreamy smile they both often got around each other. “You should hear him play the piano.” 

“You should play something tonight. Katherine would love that, she still sings as much as she can.” Rick looked over to see the bags from their flight start to come out. “We’re meeting her for lunch, she insisted.”

“Oh yay.” Emily grinned as she watched Benji grab their bags when they came around. “Where are we going?”

“Would we really go anywhere other than TJ’s diner?” Rick chuckled as they headed out to his old truck. 

“You’re going to love it.” Emily said to Benji as they wheeled their bags behind them as they walked. “They have the best food in Ohio.” 

“I can’t wait.” Benji felt a wave of nerves come over him as really being here but every time Emily smiled at him he felt he was in just the right place. 

—————

Aubrey pulled off the highway just outside of Greensboro, North Carolina. They had been driving for about five hours and still had another five to go. 

She looked over at Stacie, passed out in the seat next to her, wrapped up in a hoodie with a sleep mask over her eyes. A bit of brown hair was sticking up at an odd angle after she tossed and turned a bit to find a comfortable position before falling to sleep. 

“Stace.” Aubrey reached over, rubbing her arm. “We need to get you some food and then get some gas.” She explained when Stacie pulled part of her eye mask up to see what she wanted.

“Alright.” Stacie shifted and let out a soft groan at the way her back popped in a few places. “Oh that felt good.” 

They made their way from the car to a small diner that seemed to be dead at the moment. They found a booth so Stacie could have her back to the wall while they ate. 

“Do you want me to do some of the driving?” Stacie asked after they ordered. Tea for Aubrey, a cheeseburger and milkshake for Stacie, French Fries for them both.

“I’m doing fine. If you’re enjoying sleeping it’s no problem for me to drive.” Aubrey didn’t mind driving, it kept her focused on something other than where they were driving to. 

“I’m enjoying the fact that I get to be with you on my birthday.” Stacie reached across the diner table to slid her hand over Aubrey’s. “And that I don’t have any homework to do for a few weeks.”

“I have to look at everyone’s schedule at some point during break to figure out when our normal practice will be next semester.” Aubrey sighed. 

“I won’t be working in the writing lab again but I’m trying to find something I can do for a part time job.” Stacie said. 

“You know you don’t need to do that, don’t you?” Aubrey reminded her. 

“I know but it doesn’t make me feel great to think about just living off of your money without making some of my own.” Stacie didn’t want to become dependent on Aubrey for money anymore than Aubrey had feared becoming dependent on her for blood before she was ready to take that leap. 

“You could work at the radio station with Beca. She mentioned a few people weren’t coming back.” Aubrey turned her hand over so their fingers could lace together. 

“I might email to one of my professors about STEM type internships.” Stacie wanted a PhD and knew something like that would help her in the long run. 

“If it doesn’t pay but you find one you like, will you at least think about taking it if it’s a good one?” Aubrey asked. She didn’t want to push Stacie into depending on her but she didn’t want her to pass up chances that would benefit her either. 

“We can talk about it again once I email Dr. Williams and see what she says.” Stacie agreed. 

—————

Lilly Onakuramara unlocked the door to her family home before lifting her bag inside and locking the door. She had texted her mother when her cab let her off in front of the house so she wouldn’t surprise her when she came inside. 

Lilly walked into the living room to see both her parents sitting on their couch with different sections of the newspaper in front of them. 

Smiling Lilly pulled her phone out and texted her mother again, this time asking her to look up. 

Aiko looked up from her phone and smiled at her daughter. 

Lilly signed “hello” before walking over to her parents, hugging one after the other. She missed both of them more than words, spoken or signed, could say. 

Growing up with two deaf parents contributed to Lilly overall being less talkative around the Bellas but now that she was around her parents she started to sign, filling both of them in on her life away from Arizona. Her smile was wide as she explained how much she liked being a Bella and that she had video from them to watch so they could at least see what she did. 

“Are you happy?” Her father signed. 

“They make me feel accepted.” Lilly sighed back with a nod of her head. “They are my family too.”

—————

Jessica moved from the kitchen to the living room with Ashley to take a seat on the couch in the Smith family living room. The vampires were alone, both Jessica’s parents had to work today before having a few days off for Christmas. 

“I am so glad the snow isn’t going to start until tonight. Mom and Dad should be home in plenty of time.” Jessica smiled as she grabbed Ashley’s hand and tugged her down so they were laying side by side. 

“So we’re cuddling now?” Ashley laughed softly as she nuzzled against her neck. “Not worried your little brother won’t walk in and make a gagging sound?” 

“He’s seventeen, he’s more likely to check you out.” Jessica teased as she did just that to her girlfriend to get a laugh out of her. 

Ashley let her fangs drop before biting Jessica’s neck. When a vampire bit another it wasn’t for blood, there wasn’t really a way for them to feed off of the other, it was to show some form of claiming the other. 

“Someone in a possessive mood today?” Jessica giggled just a bit, turning to kiss Ashley, the tip of her tongue tracing over one fang. 

“Don’t start something down here we’d have to finish upstairs if there isn’t time.” Ashley whimpered even if she was the one that bit her. 

Jessica just shifted a bit to press their heads together as they cuddled on the couch. For a few long moments neither said anything. They basked in the feeling of having the other close, no hearts beating, no breath filling lungs, cool skin against cool skin. 

“I’ve been thinking.” Jess whispered as she watched the light shift in the room as the sun headed toward setting already in mid afternoon.

“About what?” Ashley whispered as her finger tips ran from Jessica’s wrist to her elbow. 

“Aubrey and Stacie, Beca and Chloe.” Jessica opened her eyes to look into Ashley’s. “How both couples marked each other and how happy they are. How it’s made them stronger over the last month.”

Ashley felt a shift inside of her at the topic of conversation. “We talked about this at the start of term.” She nodded slowly at the thought the two of them could promise forever if they walked to. 

“We’re already going to live about as long as the other since we’re both vampires.” Jessica nodded, her eyes soft as she looked at her love. 

“And there is no one I know who makes me as hopeful and excited about the future as you do.” Ashley smiled. Jessica had come into her life and made her feel like the world around them wasn’t so bad after all. 

“Mom did warn me before this year that living with a bunch of werewolves could make you and I more willing to move on a faster timeline. She said the same thing happened when she and Dad moved in together. Being around other creatures changes how vampires handle things like touch and relationships. If we breathe in their scents it has more of an impact.” Jessica didn’t want to keep that under wraps if it was changing how they behaved. 

Ashley thought about how things had changed from last year to this between them but shook her head. “That might be true for Aubrey and Stacie but us? I’ve felt like you make my heart beat since the moment I saw you.”

Jessica kissed her right then and there because what else was there to say to a vampire feeling their cold heart beat out of love? 

“Before we go back we should tell my parents and video chat yours.” She tucked a bit of dark hair behind Ashley’s ear. “I want both sides to know before we do it. Even if they think we’re crazy I want them to know.” 

“Mom and Dad might think it’s fast but a vampire in love is a force not even parental disapproval has a hard time swaying.” Ashley smiled. She swore her heart gave a sluggish beat in her chest.

—————

It was just after six in the afternoon when Flo pulled up to her aunt’s home in Miami. She had driven her friends to the airport before heading back to Miami to see her aunt. Both her parents were killed in a car accident when she was 12 so her aunt Maria took her in and made sure she was raised right. 

“Tía Maria?” Flo called as she walked inside. 

Maria, who was just as tall as Flo with silver streaks in her dark hair, walked out of the kitchen. She had a dish towel in her hands as she greeted her niece. 

“Welcome home, Florencia.” Maria hugged her before pulling back. “Come with me. You look too skinny and I have just the thing.”

Less than five minutes later there was a plate of home cooked food in front of her as the two women sat at the kitchen table. 

“Tell me about your life in Georgia.” Maria smiled. 

“It’s wonderful.” Flo couldn’t help but smiled. “The Bellas have taken me in. It’s like living with family. They are family. I’ve never lived with werewolves or vampires before. But they are all so kind to me, Tía.”

“I was worried when you told me you were moving in there.” Maria had to admit seeing her niece move into a den full of creatures worried her. 

“They have welcomed me with open arms. They always made sure one of them is around if I have to walk across campus at night. It’s very safe on campus but it’s their way of looking out for me. They take care of their own and I’m one of their pack mates.” Flo hadn’t noticed it the first few times it happened but she figured out they really had no reason to walk with her other than to make sure she felt like someone was with her if she needed them. Safety in numbers. 

“That is what friends should do even if none of you were anything but human.” Maria was happy to see the women all took care of each other. 

“And the meals are so good. We all help cook for big group meals a few times a week and have leftovers the other days. Werewolves are big on eating as a pack so it’s like having a big meal with all the cousins when we do it.” Flo was glad to know pretty much anything the pack was going to make for dinner she liked. Knowing they ate like humans, even if it was in larger qualities, was a relief. When she was growing up some of her cousins would tell her stories she now knew were made up about the eating habits of other creatures. 

“You really joined their pack?” Maria asked, worried about what that might mean. 

“I did. It doesn’t mean they control me, Tía Maria. It just means we’re a family, we’re all Bellas and we’re going to be there for each other.” Flo put her hand on her aunt’s arm. 

“Just as long as you don’t forget your family here.” Maria gave her a warm smile. 

“Never.” Flo promised, leaning over in her chair to give her a warm hug. 

————-

“Cynthia-Rose!” Richard Adams smiled as the back door opened and his youngest daughter walked in. “My baby girl has come home.”

“Hi Pops.” Cynthia-Rose hugged her father. “Where is Mom and the others?”

“Your mom is working the night shift and your sisters are out on a take out run. I didn’t feel like cooking tonight after 12 hours on my feet at the hospital.” Richard laughed. 

Cynthia-Rose smiled knowingly at her dad. Both of her parents were nurses in the werewolf ward of the local hospital. While werewolves did have enhanced healing they didn’t have vampire levels of it and did sometimes need more direct medical care. Plus in the modern era very few werewolves gave birth at home so they needed a maternity ward as well. 

“I can’t believe your mom and me get to have a full 72 hours in a row off for Christmas and all three of our girls home at once.” Richard sat at the end of the kitchen table and looked at his youngest daughter. 

“I’m really happy about that too.” Cynthia-Rose sat at the table, glad the full day of travel was done. “I’ve missed things in Jersey. I really, really need to get some pizza before I go back. Georgia has no clue about good pizza.”

Richard laughed at that. “No few places outside of New York and New Jersey do. We’re having Chinese tonight but before you go back we’ll get you some pizza.” 

“Thanks Pops.” Cynthia-Rose smiled as she relaxed a bit. “How are Nia and Jade doing? I haven’t seen them since May?”

“They will be back soon enough to give you a run down. But Nia might be bringing someone to Church on Christmas morning, that boy better hope he knows how to tie a tie right. I don’t need Reverend Daniels giving me guff.” Richard made a face.

“Reverend Daniels always has liked to point out when people don’t dress their Sunday best.” Cynthia-Rose rolled her eyes. At least he never said anything when she wore a suit to church instead of a dress like her sisters. Only commending when her tie wasn’t done correctly according to him.

“He preaches a good sermon though. When his son got married there wasn’t a dry eye on the house by the time Darren and Anthony kissed.” Richard even had tears in his eyes as he watched the longtime pastor marry his son and his son’s partner. 

“I am sad I missed the wedding. Darren was always a good guy to hang out with.” Cynthia-Rose didn’t have the money or the time she could miss in the middle of the school year to get home for the wedding.

“We’re glad to have you home for Christmas.” Richard said as he heard the car pull into the drive. “Come on, let’s set the table so we can tell your mom we didn’t eat like animals.” 

Cynthia-Rose grabbed plates and cups as she and her father set the table and her sisters brought in the food. Soon enough the four of them sat at the table, munching on take out and catching up. It really was good to be home. 

—————

The driveway up to Blanchet Manor, a home built by Aubrey’s mother when the colonies were still fighting their war against the redcoats was nearly three miles along. The manor had been added on and rebuilt inside over the years but the oldest parts, the cellars, were original. 

“Why do I feel like we’re now in a horror movie?” Stacie asked as they made their way up the drive. 

“That is not completely incorrect.” Aubrey’s eyes kept forward on the driveway. “My mother is the stuff of horror stories all on her own. ”

“She raised you, she raised Alex.” Stacie reached over to place her hand on Aubrey’s thigh as she drove up to a large manor house. “There has to be good in her, good in this home if it leads to the Aubrey Posen that I took as a mate.” She pointed out. 

Aubrey couldn’t argue that most of the fear of her family came from their past. It wasn’t who they were now that scared her so much as what they had done in the past. What they had so effortlessly participated in at a time humans were blissfully unaware they were real. 

“I am going to try to remember that. If it’s just my parents, Alex and us I think I can remember that.” Aubrey wanted this to be a good memory for them. Christmas really was her favorite holiday with all of the magic that seemed to fill the air this time of year. With it being their first together she wanted to make the effort to make it meaningful. 

“If it’s not, I’ll help you remember.” Stacie leaned over to kiss her jaw before they both got out of the car. 

“Miss Aubrey.” An older man walked out wearing a butler’s uniform. “May I take your bags to your room for you ma’am?” He offered, his accent was British and his eyes stayed off of both of them, looking at their feet instead of their faces. 

“Thank you James.” Aubrey moved the bags in front of them so he could take them inside. “Make sure that any order given to you by Stacie is followed, understand?”

“Yes, Miss Aubrey.” He bowed his head and took the bags upstairs, moving unnaturally quickly back inside of the house. 

“That was James.” Aubrey explained as she and Stacie headed inside the large wooden doors. “He’s under my mother’s protection. Ages more slowly than humans usually do but still ages.” She explained as they entered the large foyer. 

“The stairs right there will take you up to where the bedrooms are.” Aubrey gestured before turning them towards one of the sitting rooms that was less formal than the main living room of the home but no less grand. 

“Well if it isn’t my little sister come home again.” Alex stood up from one of the couches to walk over. “And my favorite wolf in law.” She smiled at Stacie before giving each of them a welcoming hug. 

“Hello Alex.” Stacie smiled as she stepped back beside Aubrey, holding her hand again to try to use the contact to keep both of them calm. 

“Where are Mother and Daddy?” Aubrey asked 

“Their office.” Alex sighed. “Clan thing, nothing overly serious but it required both of their attention.” She didn’t go into details, she knew them only second handed herself. 

“Could be five minutes or five hours before they are out.” Aubrey explained to Stacie. 

“Come on, Dad made barbecue tonight and even I don’t turn down Dad’s cooking.” Alex led them both into the large kitchen. “Take a seat and let me heat this up, can’t do it the quick way when there is so much time in it.” She turned the oven on to warm. 

“I can smell it already.” Stacie’s mouth all but watered. She and Aubrey sat down on two stools that were at the island as they watched Alex. 

“Dad got you a deer thigh for the full moon too. Bone in.” Alex pulled a baking sheet out to put the food on to heat it up correctly. “His way of welcoming you in.”

Stacie smiled at the news. “I love deer.”

Aubrey tucked that bit of information away for later. She usually got calf bones for the full moons but deer wouldn’t be much harder to find. 

“There are a lot of woods around for you to run in during the full moon. Aubrey knows the safer areas.” Alex put the food in to heat up, leaning back against the counter. 

“I brought the tea too. I wasn’t sure if me transforming and roaming around your property was a good idea or not.” Stacie’s hand linked with Aubrey’s. 

“Aubrey can go out with you, play fetch or whatever it is college kids do for foreplay nowadays.” Alex snorted as she watched her sister roll her eyes. 

“Come on Alex.” Stacie chuckled. “You’ve been around werewolves. You know we’re more likely to want our bellies rub than to fuck around when we’re transformed.” 

Alex snorted. “At least those of you that are tamed, yeah. I ran into a pack in the Rocky’s that were less so. Nearly didn’t make it out of there with my life. Or death. Whatever.” She waved her hand as she pulled the food out and started to unwrap it from the foil. 

The smell that hit Stacie in the face when the foil was peeled back made her tongue nearly hang out of her mouth. “Oh, yeah this was worth the drive up, just for the food.”

“I missed that smell.” Aubrey admitted as she slid off of her seat to grab some plates. She rarely ate any human food, sticking to tea and blood, but her father’s ribs were the one real indulgence she had. 

Stacie leaned over to watch as Alex put a bit on each plate, giving Stacie the most since she needed the food versus the two vampires who didn’t. 

“Enjoy.” Alex smiled, picking up one of the ribs and licking it clean in a bare few seconds. 

The food she had for lunch had been enough to tide her over but the taste of General Posen’s ribs fed Stacie’s soul in a way she didn’t know it needed to be. She was quick to devour a dozen of the ribs, much of Alex and Aubrey’s amusement. 

“I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” Stacie felt her cheeks redden as she cleaned her face and hands off with the damp paper towel Alex handed her. 

“My mate’s cooking does have that effect on those who take their nourishment from such human things.” The Posen matriarch said from the doorway. All that was left of the French accent that she was born with was the slight pause before the h sound. 

Bellatrix Blanchet stepped into the kitchen of the manor every bit the imposing figure Stacie had heard about. Tall with her blonde hair twisted up, a youthful glow that Stacie knew came at the price of the same blood lust as her mate. Stacie got the impression she always looked ready for Vogue or Vanity Fair to show up to do a spread of her fabulous outfits. 

“Mother.” Aubrey bowed her head as she slipped from her seat to stand in front of her, head turned to bare her neck in a greeting fit for the head of her clan. 

“Aubrey.” Bellatrix reached out to trail a finger down her neck before taking her daughter’s hand as Aubrey looked up at her. “You wounded your father and me greatly when you chose not to communicate your intentions with Miss Conrad.”

“What your mother is trying to say is it would have been nice to have known beforehand, Aubrey.” General Alexander Posen stepped to his mate’s side. He didn’t take her hand but the back of his brushed against the back of hers in a gesture they did more often than any vampire of her station should allow the silly human gesture. 

Aubrey looked from her mother’s always composed face to her father’s expression of slight disappointment. “Stacie is important to my happiness in a way that I don’t completely understand but I can’t survive without any longer.” She admitted, tangling her hand in Stacie’s when the werewolf finally found the ability to move to stand next to her. 

“Well then.” Bellatrix flashed her fangs in a too casual way. They were a symbol of status in this world after all. “I think we should retire to the drawing room and get to know this mate of yours. You bound yourself to her for the rest of a very long lifetime, my darling.” 

Stacie felt a slight chill run up her spine as she walked to the drawing room with Aubrey’s parents, Alex trailing behind. She got the impression that Aubrey didn’t really want to sit in the drawing room with her parents and be grilled on their relationship. Yet here they were seated together on one couch while the general and his vampire sat on the other after the general poured some drinks. 

“Here.” Alex handed a drink to Stacie. 

Stacie didn’t need to hear the “you’re going to need this” to understand that was what Alex meant. She offered her a thankful smile. 

“Alexandra tells me that your pack is one my clan has no formal relations with, despite your mate being my youngest daughter.” Bellatrix leveled her gaze on Stacie, a glass of blood wine in her hand. 

Stacie poked her tongue out to lick her suddenly dry lips. “My co-leader and I haven’t looked into the more formal side of having a pack. But we’d be open to it.” 

“By blood, in a very literal sense, you’re part of my clan now. It would be highly unusual if there weren’t relations formally addressed.” Bellatrix rested her left arm on the back of the couch, playing with the hair on the back of Alexander’s head. 

“I’ll talk to her and walk her through the process before they leave, Mother.” Alex said, wanting to make it clear to her mother she could be trusted with the task. 

“Can we move off of clan matters for the moment?” Alexander turned his head to look at his mate. He was not a man who spent most of his professional life deferring to others but Bellatrix was always his exception. 

“Of course, darling.” Bellatrix smiled at him as her fingers trailed down to stroke over the bite mark on his neck. 

“Aubrey.” Alexander looked at his youngest daughter. He paused a moment to try and find the right wording. He was upset at the very idea his daughter would take a mate without having that mate known to the clan yet seeing the way they looked at each other reminded him of Bellatrix and himself. “Are you happy, truly happy, with your choice?”

“I would make the choice to become Stacie’s mate again now, tomorrow, a year from now, a hundred years of now, even a thousand.” Aubrey turned from her parents to look at Stacie. Her fangs were down, common when she was home and other vampires, her control slightly lessened due to it. “Stacie is my grounding point.” 

“Bree.” Stacie looked at her with a smile that couldn’t be contained even by the slight fear she felt being in the same room as one of the most deadly of vampires. “I feel the same way.” She turned back to face Aubrey’s parents. “I feel the very same way about your daughter. She’s where I can find rest even if I feel wicked.”

Alexander remembered the rush of taking a vampire as a mate. Human as he was and having no real way to reciprocate he did sometimes wonder what it would be like to mark Bellatrix. Though even after all this time he wasn’t sure she would allow herself to be marked in an everlasting way. 

“Stand, if you will.” Bellatrix said as she set down her glass of wine and rose to her feet. “Bare the right side of your neck.” 

The fear that Stacie felt traveled through the bond with Aubrey like an elective shock. There was almost no time for Aubrey to react though as Stacie, always the brave Alpha when called to be, stood to her full height and turned her head. Aubrey stood as their hands locked firmly together again, her own fear not helping Stacie but even she didn’t know what her mother had planned. 

“I have not had the honor of welcoming a new member to my immediate family that was not born to me since Mr. Jefferson wore the title of president.” Bellatrix stepped in front of Stacie, an inch or two shorter than the werewolf. 

Bellatrix reached her hand out to trade out the artery pulsing just under Stacie’s skin. Her nail scraped against the skin, leaving the suggestion the skin should redden in its wake. 

“Tu es le sang de mon sang, jusqu'à ce que nous soyons avalés par l’abîme.” Bellatrix whispered in French as her nail dug in just enough to bring a drop of blood forward. She pulled her hand back to lick the smeared blood off of her thumb. “We are of one blood now, my darling. Family we will always be.” 

Stacie tilted her head back up as she gave a tight smile at the way Bellatrix could make her feel so off kilter even as she welcomed her to the family. 

“Thank you.” Stacie whispered as she turned her head to Aubrey. There was a shiver, this time it had nothing to do with being cold or Bellatrix being in the room, when Aubrey licked the mark to close it. 

As everyone sat back down the conversation was noticeably lighter. Alexander asking Stacie about herself and Stacie feeling a bit more at ease at answering now that she had been welcomed in. Aubrey and Alex shared a look now and then but mostly let their father and Stacie handle the conversation. 

—————

Christmas morning, Beca woke up in her mate’s arms. Chloe spooning her as the pair faced away from the windows to try and avoid an early wake up call. It took some doing on Beca’s part but she managed to turn around in Chloe’s arms without waking her up, something she rarely managed to do. 

Her fingertip trailed up the high points of Chloe’s cheeks and then down the bridge of her nose. She traced the outline of her lips just about the time they curved into a sleepy smile as Chloe woke under the gentle touches. 

“Merry Christmas.” Beca whispered, the blankets pulled up nearly to their chin as the two rested in a little den of two. 

“Merry Christmas to you too.” Chloe whispered, eyes opening to greet her mate on their very first Christmas together. 

“I don’t smell coffee yet so Mom isn’t out of bed.” Beca said. “We have some time before we have to get up.” She would take a lifetime of the two of them in bed together if she could get it. 

“I want to give you something before we go down. A gift that I think you should open in private.” Chloe said before kissing her good morning. 

“Oh?” Beca’s eyebrow rose at the idea of a private Christmas gift. 

“Get your mind out of the gutter. Nothing like you’re thinking about.” Chloe laughed at the expression on Beca’s face. 

“My mind is never in the … ok yeah my mind lives in the gutter sometimes. But whatever you want to give me I know I’ll love.“ Beca promised. 

Chloe half hung off the bed to grab the gift out of her suitcase, the t-shirt she wore to bed last night raising high on her torso until she twisted back around. 

In her hand was a small black box with a red bow on the top. 

“Chlo?” Beca tilted her head as she slowly shifted to sit up against the headboard. 

“It’s not as nice as maybe I wish it were. But I managed to sell back some books and do a few other things to afford it.” Chloe sat up as the box still rested in her hand. 

Beca reached for it, her left hand shaking just a bit as she popped the box top open and pulled out a velvet ring box. When she opened it she found a thick brass ring, the inside having the date they marked each other carved into it. 

“It’s not the same as a wedding, I know marking in each pack and each relationship means something different. But for me and I hope for you it’s a promise of forever just the same as if we got married as humans.” Chloe watched as Beca pulled the ring from the box and rolled it around in her hands. “Maybe one day we’ll have a human style wedding and we’ll file paperwork and we’ll be married. Until then I thought you could wear thi so when the mark on your shoulder stays hidden there is still a sign of our bond showing.”

“Chloe.” Beca felt her heart race in her chest as she looked into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. “One day I will give you that wedding that you dreamed about as a little girl. One day I’ll give you the whole world.”

Chloe leaned down as Beca leaned forward, the kiss deepening quickly like a fire spreading on dry leaves. Beca managed not to break the kiss as she slid the ring on to her left ring finger, feeling how perfectly the brass fit. 

“It’s not going to be forever, I want to get you a ring as nice as the one you just got me.” Beca slipped one of her rings off and on to Chloe’s left ring finger. Most werewolves wore brass rings or platinum, as Beca often did, because of the negative association silver had even if it wouldn’t harm them. 

Chloe looked down at the simple platinum band on her left hand and she felt a few tears hit her curled leg. “Growing up I never thought when I thought of my family that the feelings would be overwhelmingly positive. You’re my family now, you and Aubrey and Stacie and the Bellas, and it’s so nice to know my family loves me.”

Beca hugged Chloe to her chest as a wave of love flowed so unencumbered through their bond. She nuzzled her mate’s neck, kissing softly against the mark first made by Aubrey and then reclaimed by her. “I love you, Chloe Beale.” She whispered against her neck.

“Mitchell.” Chloe whispered. “What would you think about me taking Michell?” She asked as she carefully pulled back a bit. 

Beca’s eyebrows went high enough her hairline almost swallowed them. “Seriously?” She asked with a pleasant grunt at the idea. 

“I don’t want to be tied to people who aren’t my family anymore. And it would be kind of nice to wear your name as a mark of a very different kind.” Chloe reached out to Beca’s shoulder to trace the outline of her mark over her t-shirt.

“When we get to Georgia we can look into how to do it.” Beca promised, a shiver hitting her as Chloe touched the mark. There was no pain over the cuts in her skin anymore, just an overwhelming sense of tenderness. “I love you, Chloe.”

“I love you too.” Chloe turned her head to give her mate a kiss. “I think I smell coffee and I know I can hear your mom downstairs. Should we go help make breakfast?” 

Beca wiped her wet eyes before giving a nod. “Come on. Let’s go.” She didn’t trust herself to talk too much right now, caught up in just how happy she felt. 

When they did make it downstairs, Susan was already starting the bacon in the oven while the coffee brewed. 

“Merry Christmas, girls.” Susan smiled at her daughter and de facto daughter in law. “What do you want for breakfast today?”

“We were thinking you could sit and relax and Beca and I could make you breakfast, ma’am.” Chloe offered as Beca went and made the pair of them some coffee. 

“Thank you, Chloe. You two are more than welcome to my kitchen for the morning.” Susan took her coffee cup to the kitchen table to oversee. 

Susan watched closely as Beca and Chloe moved around the kitchen together. Even in the space Chloe had never been before they worked well together, Chloe doing most of the mixing while Beca got what she asked for and moved to pan over a burner on the right sized flame. The two women - she had to remind herself Beca wasn’t a girl anymore - were in step with each other as pancake after pancake were made and the back was flipped. Her heart felt a bit of a tug at how well her daughter had chosen when it came to picking a mate. Though part of her wondered if Beca had a choice at all or if it was just all fate. 

—————

Benji looked up from the spare room bed when the door was nudged open, Emily holding a cup of coffee in each hand as she walked in. 

“Merry Christmas.” She grinned at him as she used her foot to close the door. “I brought you coffee.” 

“Merry Christmas.” Benji looked nervous even as he leaned up to give her a good morning kiss. “Aren’t your parents going to have a problem with you in my room with the door shut?”

“They trust me and I trust you, so they trust us.” Emily shrugged, handing over one of the mugs before getting on the bed with him, arranging the blankets over her bare legs. 

Benji wasn’t sure that was true but he wasn’t turning down Emily in a tank top and sleep shorts in his bed on Christmas morning. He shifted a pillow behind him so she could settle against his chest as they sipped their coffee. 

Holding her coffee in her right hand, Emily held Benji’s hand with her left as she enjoyed watching the snow falling outside the window. Her eyes closed as she soaked up how nice it felt to have Benji here for Christmas. 

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” Emily whispered. 

“I don’t think I’m falling in love with you.” Benji whispered back. “I’m in love with you.”

“Yeah?” Emily held her coffee cup a little tighter as she tried to keep her voice from sounding over excited. 

“Yeah, Em.” Benji smiled. “It’s hard not to fall in love with you. You’re kind and smart, you’re funny and talented. And you make everything better. You get so excited about things and it’s contagious. I could keep going but we’d miss Christmas if I did because it would take all day.” 

Emily ducked her head as her cheeks turned pink under the sweet words. She turned it back up after a few seconds, kissing him square on the mouth. “Going to say hi to you on hood night is still the best choice I think I’ve made in college so far.”

“You’ll always be my queen of hearts.” Benji smiled as he bent down for another kiss. 

—————

Telling Jessica’s parents had gone smoother than Ashley had thought it would. Just after gifts and all the vampires fed they sat them down and explained their plans. Once they got over the shock of it both Mr. and Mrs. Smith had to admit the pair fit together in a way that felt unbreakable. 

Telling her own parents, Ashley knew it wouldn’t go as smoothly with her family, had gone about as well as she expected. Her parents thought they were rushing and didn’t have a problem telling them so. But by the end of the call they agreed it was Ashley’s choice to make. 

“Talk to me?” Jessica sat with her back against the headboard as Ashley laid with her head on her lap. 

“We’re moving fast. For humans or vampires. We’re moving fast.” Ashley whispered, letting the doubts from her parents become her own. 

“Sometimes I think so.” Jessica played with Ashley’s hair. “Sometimes it feels painfully slow. Like we should already have a house and jobs already, two kids and talks about who is picking up from daycare and who has to take the dog to the vet on Thursday.”

Ashley smiled despite herself at the thought of all the wonderful images Jessica could put in her head. “If we were humans and talked about getting married our second year of college people would think we were crazy.”

“Maybe.” Jessica bent her head down to press a kiss to Ashley’s forehead. “I want the comfort of knowing you and I are going to be there for each other for the rest of our lives. If that happens because we mark each other or promise it to each other, we’re both agreed it’s what we want.”

“We could wait.” Ashley whispered as she looked at her wrist, feeling an ache in her chest at how bare it looked. “Knowing once we’re out of school we’re going to do it.”

“We could.” Jessica agreed. “In three hundred years will it matter if we do it this year or the next or in two or three?”

The comment didn’t make Ashley feel better about waiting. She sat up, twisting around to face her girlfriend. “No, it won’t. It won’t matter that we waited because we’re inevitable. You and I were created with the other in mind, I’m sure of it.”

Ashley held her wrist out. “Jess, bite me.”

“My pleasure.” Jessica didn’t hesitate as she brought her love’s wrist to her mouth, biting down on the spot. She cut her right wrist, pressing the two wrists together. “I vow myself and my immortal being to you. To be used at your command, at your request, at your pleading.” She felt a warmth at the wording, bonding her soul to her love’s. 

Ashley looked into Jessica’s eyes as she brought her wrist to her lips, feeling her fangs slid down and bit into her cool flesh. “I vow myself and my immortal being to you. To be used at your command, at your request, at your pleading.” She whispered after slashing her right wrist to press to the bites on Jessica’s left. 

The pair grinned at each other before licking both wrists of the other, sealing the marks and finishing the rite. 

“You’re stuck with me, forever.” Jessica shifted over Ashley as the brunette laid back. 

“My evil plan all this time.” Ashley whispered before she tilted her head up as they shared a kiss with the taste of each other’s blood on their lips. 

—————

Christmas afternoon, Stacie found herself yelping as she went flying through the cool Virginia air. She landed in a crumpled heap before making it back to her feet, cursing the cool air that made her feel more sluggish. It wasn’t cold enough that snow was called for but there were times Stacie swore she could see her breath. Being in a sports bra and leggings didn’t help much either. But training against Alex was too tempting to worry about the temperature outside. 

“Come on, Conrad, I know you have more in you than that.” Alex stood in the middle of a cleaning in the woods about a hundred yards from the manor. 

“You’re tougher than you look, Posen.” Stacie admitted as she ran at her, making to jump up and land down on top of her before yelping when she was flipped on her back. 

Stacie managed to throw Alex off of her and get back to her feet before Alex’s fist connected with her jaw. “Fuck.” She growled before landing a shot to Alex’s belly. 

“Nice shot.” Alex grunted before backing off a bit. She charged at her a moment later, hoping to catch Stacie off guard. When she landed on her back on the ground she knew she failed. 

“Say uncle.” Stacie pinned her down to the grass, knowing Alex could throw her off but her gloating smirk at the moment still firmly in place. 

Before Alex could act, Aubrey stepped forward, eyebrow raised. “I thought the marks we gave each other precluded you straddling my relatives.”

“She wishes.” Stacie moved to her feet and took the water bottle Aubrey offered her. “Thank you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I had a Conrad on top of me.” Alex snorted as she grabbed a towel to wipe the blood off of her. A bit of her own and some of Stacie’s. 

Stacie and Aubrey shared a look. 

“Are you ever going to tell us what happened or are you going to vaguely hint at what happened between you and Sam?” Stacie finally asked.

Alex’s jaw tightened a little bit as she threw down the towel. “You really want to know about this, Pup?” 

The nickname had happened somewhere between Stacie and Aubrey arriving and the Christmas morning. Stacie would usually object to it but from Alex she could feel the affection in the word. 

“Tell me about you and Sam, Alex.” Stacie whispered, her hand finding Aubrey’s as they stood side by side with Alex pacing a bit in front of them. 

“I fell in love with your sister during my time in the Pacific northwest. It’s important to me you understand that because despite evidence a Posen and a Conrad can love each other, happily take the other as a mate, until I saw the pair of you together I would have sworn the match would only lead to heartbreak.” Alex needed to pace a bit to get this story out without feeling like she was trapped in some cage that she couldn’t get out of. 

Stacie turned to look at Aubrey before back to Alex. Sam hadn’t said a word about Alex to her at all, she questioned if it was heartache or something else that kept her quiet. 

“We met at the club she worked at.” Alex didn’t look at Stacie as she spoke, nor Aubrey, just the ground as she paced. “I went there to try and find an easy mark, someone I could charm, feed from and leave with a smile. Wolves are easy targets, deep breathers and so willing to move quickly with the right motivation. I saw Sam dancing and I swear my heart clenched in my chest.”

Alex pulled at her ponytail to free it, putting the tie on her wrist before using her hand to run it through her hair. “We talked after she got off her shift, I stayed so long I closed the place down. I just watched her for hours that night. Then I did the same the next night. More watching, more talking, more heart that can’t beat clenching. For three weeks I went there and I watched her dance and I talked to her after. And I swear she must be part vamp because I felt like I was under her charm every time I was near her.” 

She shook her head at the memories, still not looking at Stacie or Aubrey. “We started sleeping after the watching and the talking and the heart still clenching. She let me feed from her ankle where she could cover it up. For the next nearly two months while I was there doing what Mother asked of me I saw her and talked to her and loved her. I love her. And then the clan elder’s son comes in and he can offer her everything I can’t. Honor in her clan and an easy life and without the complication of an immortal lover.” 

“She didn’t know who she wanted. The wolf of her dreams to lift her and her family to a place of honor in the pack or a vampire who was the right hand of a monster from the Middle Ages.” Alex gave Stacie and Aubrey a weak smile. “I allowed myself one more night with her. One more feeding. One more clenching of an undead heart.

“Just tell me she’s happy and what I did I can live with.” Alex whispered, her eyes on Stacie. 

“She’s comfortable.” Stacie wouldn’t commit to anything more. “He has given her a comfortable life.”

“You and she have nearly the same scent.” Alex whispered as she picked up her towel. “I look at you and I think of her and I hope she’s more than comfortable but if that is what I granted her by leaving then so be it. Because comfortable is not a word thrown around often in this family.” Without another word she left the pair of mates alone.

Stacie turned and watched as Alex went into the house before turning back to her mate. Her hands shaking a bit at the turbulence of emotions she felt. 

“Sam mated with her husband because of a broken heart.” Stacie whispered as she was pulled in by Aubrey. Her face pressing to the vampire’s neck. 

Aubrey closed her eyes as she rubbed up and down Stacie’s back. “I’m going to calm you, Louve.” She whispered as she allowed some of her charm to ease the pain her mate felt. 

Stacie breathed in, feeling the effects of the charm hitting her square in the face. It didn’t spot her heart from breaking over what Alex told her but it stopped the sobbing that she was on the verge of. 

“I remember Sam being upset around the time Alex was there. But I didn’t know it was because of her, I just thought it was because of what was going on in the family.” Stacie whispered, holding tight to Aubrey. 

“It wasn’t yours to know about, Stacie. You couldn’t have fixed this for either one if you did know.” Aubrey reminded her, stroking down the back of her neck.

—————

“Mother wants to see Stacie.” Alex walked into Aubrey’s bedroom the day before Stacie and Aubrey were set to go back to Georgia. 

Aubrey looked up at her sister from the book she had been reading, her head on Stacie’s middle. “Alex, is that a good idea?”

“She asked to speak with her alone.” Alex answered the question. “Come on Pup.” 

Stacie was not someone who was driven by fear but walking to the study to talk privately with Aubrey’s mother made her feel it in a way that was more real than anything she had experienced before. 

“Leave us, Alexandra.” Bellatrix told her daughter just after the door opened. “Thank you for doing as I requested and joining me.”

“Thank you for letting me stay here during break.” Stacie held her hands in front of her, right hand gripping left wrist so her finger could touch the mark Aubrey put on her wrist. 

“You are my daughter’s mate and have as much right to stay here as she does.” Bellatrix turned to look at the centuries younger woman. “My daughter has suffered by being born to me. I’ve tried my hardest to prevent it from happening but I am unsure if it was ever possible for it not to.”

“Aubrey loves you, she loves her father and Alex too.” Stacie answered, sitting in one of the chairs by the cold fireplace when Bellatrix gestured for her to. 

“Yet she resents me, rightly so maybe, for being who I am. Born a very long time ago and made monstrous by someone because I knew it would free me from a life I could not bear to live.” Bellatrix had chosen to be turned, to be made a vampire. “Alexandra and Aubrey both suffered by being born as my daughters. One made into my right hand and the other so like her father she became my confidant before she was out of school.”

Stacie saw what she thought might be regret on the fine features of the vampire before her but she couldn’t quite read them the way she could Aubrey. 

“Alexandra has not found her grounding point yet, as Aubrey called you. But Aubrey looks at you the way I do my mate.” Bellatrix watched what effect her words had on Stacie. “So I offer you a deal.”

“A deal?” Stacie questioned. 

“My birthday in May, her father's in September, Christmas every other year so you may see your parents home for the holiday if you wish, and two week long holidays of your choosing a year, you both will come here or Alexander and I will come to you when you have your home set up or we’ll travel. In exchange I will allow Aubrey and you to take any funds from the family vault over the years you need and I will vow to you that I will never include my daughter in my affairs. Alexandra is too useful already for me to allow her to back out quickly but Aubrey hasn’t been involved enough to be indispensable.”

“You’re trading seeing your daughter for her freedom?” Stacie questioned. 

“I’m trading my word that you and she will live freely - under my protection - and the joy is being able to see her and any grandchildren that may be produced for my word that I will not involve her in a life that she would excel in but lose herself to.” Bellatrix corrected. 

“Why ask me about it, why not her?” Stacie wasn’t sure she liked to be put in the middle between mother and daughter.

“You’re her mate, an Alpha werewolf and I believe my sins aren’t held against me by you quite as firmly.” Bellatrix gave as close to an honest smile as she had in some time. 

“Alright.” Stacie finally said. She would take whatever argument from Aubrey at her agreeing on her behalf later. The freedom of knowing that Aubrey would be free of her family affairs would be enough to warm her if Aubrey gave her the cold shoulder. “I have some conditions.”

“I would be shocked if you didn’t.” Bellatrix chuckled.

“A piece of land for us to build a home near enough to yours but a few miles away at least. I don’t know where she and I will end up but I think Aubrey will always want a home in these forests.” Stacie offered a small smile there. “And a promise that if Aubrey and I do have kids that they will be allowed normal lives. You won’t drag them in to all of this if they don’t want it. And if they do then Aubrey and I get to be involved in some way to make sure they aren’t canon fodder in your wars.” 

Bellatrix laughed deeply at the conditioned. They were so unlike what she would have selected but maybe that was all for the better. 

“Alright.” Bellatrix agreed.

While Stacie and Bellatrix spoke in the study, Alexander walked up to Aubrey’s bedroom to speak with her. He stood at the door for a moment before lifting his hand and knocking, waiting to be called in. 

“Hello.” Aubrey turned from the spot she was standing by the window, looking out over the forest while she waited for Stacie. 

“My youngest daughter is all grown up now.” Alexander looked at Aubrey as though he was seeing her for the first time. 

“I still have a few months left of college and then law school before I might feel as grown up as you make me out to be.” Aubrey chuckled weakly as she looked at her father. 

“You took a mate, Aubrey. That’s pretty grown up in my book, having grown through the experience myself.” Alexander chuckled. 

“Stacie is hard to say no to.” Aubrey gave a smile as she thought of her mate. “I fell hard and fast and I don’t know if I want to ever recover from it. The feeling of free falling with her.”

Alexander watched his daughter and saw so much of his mate in her eyes. “Your mother is offering your mate a deal, you know?”

“A deal?” Aubrey narrowed her eyes. 

“Freedom from her and the clan in exchange for seeing you during the year. Something she worries about you denying her, you know. I’ve never seen her worry about anything more than she worries about you.” Alexander admitted. 

“Maybe if she worried about her other children more Whitechapel wouldn’t have been painted red or the Great War would have had a slightly lower body count.” Aubrey made a face at the idea. 

“She wasn’t the same woman then as she is now, Aubrey. Believe it or not your mother is able to change.” Alexander defended his mate. “I have shared a home with her for some years now and we’ve a very, very long time to go if I have my way. I have seen her hold you in her arms as a newborn and break her perfect created image to run around the house after you as a toddler, I have sat next to her as we attended performances of yours and seen her pace as you leave us for Georgia, knowing every time you do that you’re a little less likely to come back again. She isn’t the monster that raised your half siblings, not that she did much raising then at her own admission. She is my mate and your mother and she is trying not to lose you to a woman she isn’t anymore.” 

Aubrey had never really been chastised but she felt so under her father’s tone even if she wasn’t wrong about her mother’s past deeds. But she had even admitted to Stacie that she wasn’t the same person so why was it so hard to forgive her for crimes she hadn’t committed in over a century. 

Aubrey wiped her damp eyes as she looked at her father. “If I forgive her her trespasses against humanity, what makes anyone so sure I won’t commit the same ones?” 

“Because the parents who raised you didn’t raise you to commit those trespasses and it’s not who you are. I can’t understand what it feels like to need blood to feed yourself. I can’t understand what charming someone feels like or what it feels like to know the power that you have inside of you.” Alexander stepped closer to his daughter. “But I know what it’s like to love someone who does and I know what it’s like to be their grounding point. You are not your mother and Stacie is not me but the bond between you is as real and solid as your mother’s and mine.”

Aubrey nodded, allowing her father to pull her into a hug. “I’ve been hard on Mother.” She whispered with her cheek against her father’s chest. 

“You have. But she loves you and if you allow her to, she and I very much want to stay in your life.” Alexander kissed the top of his daughter’s head. 

“Of course, Daddy.” Aubrey whispered. A smile crossed her face when she felt something from the bond with Stacie that felt a lot like satisfaction. 

—————

Somehow Flo, Cynthia-Rose and Lilly were the first three back to Bella House after winter break. The three getting earlier flights back and ending up riding back to campus together. 

“It feels so good to be back.” Cynthia-Rose said, using her key to open the front door. 

“It was nice to see all of my family but I have missed all of you.” Flo agreed as she brought her back inside. 

“I have missed my pack.” Lilly said, her voice as quiet as ever.

The three all headed to their respective rooms to get everything put away before they noticed there was nothing really in the kitchen to have for lunch or the first dinner back tonight. 

“Why don’t we go to the store, fill the kitchen up for the next week or so and then order take out for tonight?” Cynthia-Rose suggested. “No one is going to want to cook really but everyone should be here tonight for dinner.”

“I love that idea.” Flo agreed as she started making a list of what they were going to need at the store. 

Lilly agreed with a nod, a smile on her face at the idea. 

A few hours and three stops later the house was full of food again. Everything from meat for the freezer to bread, milk eggs, Oreos and some cookies too. The three made sure that all of the main stays were taken care of. 

“Hey, who’s back already?” Jessica called as she and Ashley came in the front door. 

“Hey.” Flo smiled from the couch in her spot between Cynthia-Rose and Lilly. “The three of us got back a little while ago. How was your break?”

“It was really good but I’m glad we’re back.” Jessica smiled. Her little brother made it his mission to tease the pair as much as possible about being so in love.

“We’re going to go put our stuff away.” Ashley smiled. 

“We’re just starting a movie to pass the time, want us to wait?” Cynthia-Rose asked. 

“We might be a while.” Jessica shook her head as they headed to the stairs. She didn’t want a movie to get in the way of her plan to take her newly made mate to bed until more housemates arrived. “You three go ahead.”

It was a few hours later until Emily came through the front door with her trademark smile and her bags in hand. 

“Hey, how was break?” Cynthia-Rose turned her head from the couch. They were on the third Harry Potter movie now. 

“It was great. Benji and I explored all of Ohio and my parents really like him and we said I love you to each other and oh we even got to go into Pittsburg and have a sandwich with French fries on it!” Emily said in an excited tone.

“Wait. Back up.” Cynthia-Rose raised an eyebrow. “You and Benji told each other the big I.L.Y?”

“Oh yeah.” Emily smiled as she sat down on the end of the couch. 

“That is really cute.” Flo sighed with a dreamy smile. 

“He is kind.” Lilly nodded. 

“He is!” Emily grinned. “And really funny and handsome and we’re really, really happy.”

“That is so sweet I think I have a cavity now.” Cynthia-Rose teased with a wide smile. 

“I’m going to go put my stuff away but then I am totally coming back to watch this movie with you guys if I can. It’s my favorite!” Emily grabbed her bags. 

“We’ll keep it paused for you.” Flo called as Emily ran up the stairs. 

—————

“It’ll get it.” Cynthia-Rose said a few hours later when she heard a car pull into their driveway. “Hey, you’re not the pizza we ordered.” 

“Not last time I checked.” Beca laughed when Cynthia-Rose opened the door. 

“Welcome back.” Cynthia-Rose smiled at both Chloe and Beca. 

“It’s so good to be back.” Beca had loved seeing her mom and some high school friends but she missed her room with Chloe and, dare she ever admit, she missed Barden. 

“It’s nice to be home.” Chloe agreed as they walked into the house. 

The rest of the Bellas had already made it back, Stacie and Aubrey back just a half hour ago. They were all lounging on the couch as they wanted for the food to arrive. 

“Hey everyone.” Beca called to her pack. She did a mental headcount to make sure every that that should be here was and smiled when they were.

The pack greeted the pair, all happy to have the full pack back together again. Plus Benji, of course, who was sitting at Emily’s side as he often was. 

“How was the trip?” Emily asked. 

“Really good.” Chloe smiled. 

“It was pretty good.” Beca bit back a comment about her mother sleeping with her high school pot dealer because even the pack didn’t need to know that. “Mom and Chloe hit it off and it was nice to see her and some old friends.”

“The pizza is here for real this time.” Cynthia-Rose hopped back up to get the food. 

By the time Beca and Chloe got back downstairs from taking their things back to their room, the pack was sitting at the table. Two seats were saved for them with a plate full of pizza in front of both. 

“I finally got the practice times done.” Aubrey sat next to Stacie as she ate. “I’m sending an email tonight with all the details to all of you.”

“Semi’s are in 6 weeks.” Emily smiled at Benji. “Think you guys are going to be able to keep up?”

Before Benji answered he looked around the table. “For the sake of ten angry Bellas? Nope. Not at all.” He smiled. 

“You did pick a smart one, Em.” Beca grinned as the pack howled with laughter.


	8. Flying to Chicago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone who have read. We're getting closer and closer to the end. 
> 
> Thanks G for the Beta work!

The spring semester didn’t feel very spring-y - to the Bellas at the moment. They nearly all stood hunched over, sweat rolling down their overheated skin. The vampires were taking it a bit better but no creature was fully immune from the effects of what Aubrey was putting them through.

“Aubrey, mercy.” Beca groaned as she looked up from her position, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. 

Aubrey had them using the campus gym, booking off three hours for them today to have the complex to themselves. They had done weights for over an hour before Aubrey brought them to a large tract to do cardio. Flo was holding her own, thanks to her years of training as a gymnast, but she and the werewolves were all worn out from the demand placed on them. 

“I think I may be dying.” Emily was laying flat on her back in the middle of the track, feeling like she was going to die if she had to run another lap. 

“I think we’ve hit the three hour mark, anyway.” Chloe checked her watch, looking like she had just jumped into a pool. 

Aubrey’s lip curled but Chloe was correct about what time it was. She wanted the Bellas to be as fit as they could be to make sure no one would be out of shape for the semi finals and then with any luck the finals. She checked her watch to double check Chloe’s assessment of the time before nodding. 

“Good job everyone.” Aubrey said to the group. “Let’s all hit the showers and we can go get you some lunch.”

As the group broke apart to head to the locker rooms, Stacie walked over to her mate. She looked worn out but she had gone running with Aubrey enough to have been prepared for the demanding captain. 

“I know you are trying to get everyone up to your standards babe, but you might not want to kill anyone before the semis.” Stacie’s hand rested on Aubrey’s lower back as they headed to the locker room. 

“I wasn’t that hard on them.” Aubrey said with a bit of defiance in her tone. 

“Sweetheart all three vampires - that includes you - are sweating. I didn’t know that was possible for vampires.” Stacie chuckled. 

“It is not impossible but it’s unusual. We’re all part human so there are things like this that happen at times..” Aubrey conceited as they headed to get their things before a shower. 

“Shower with me?” Stacie asked, wiggling her eyebrows a bit once they had all of their things gathered in their arms. 

“Go shower.” Aubrey rolled her eyes as she opened one of the stall doors and shut it behind her. 

Once the Bellas had all cleaned up, Stacie was still sad she didn’t have Aubrey there to wash her back for her - or her front, she wasn’t picky - they headed out to get some lunch together. 

“What are you guys doing for Valentines day?” Beca asked Stacie as Chloe and Aubrey walked in front of them, talking about a shared class. The holiday was three days away and Beca had never had to really put effort in before with it. 

“I’m renting the cabin where she and I marked each other in again. We’re going to take my bike if it’s nice out or her car if it isn’t. Then spend the night up there while I try very hard to keep her from thinking about semi’s the next week.” Stacie smiled at her plan. 

“She’ll love that, the cabin and maybe even you trying to get her mind cleared out.” Beca laughed softly. 

“What are you and Chlo doing?” Stacie asked. 

“Dinner out at a place in Atlanta that I’ve heard has some of the best food in the city. My dad recommended it so I figured it was “adult” enough for the night. Then a hotel room nearish to the restaurant with some champagne and roses.” Beca wasn’t sure what to do to show off her love for Chloe so she fell back on what the internet told her was romantic. 

“She’ll love that.” Stacie smiled down at her friend.

“And a song.” Beca blushed a little. “I wrote her a song. It’s for one of my classes, we had to write something original. But it’s for her so it doesn’t count as homework really.” 

“She’ll really love that.” Stacie took Beca’s phone when she passed her the lyrics. The lyrics were raw and a little more honest than Stacie thought Beca could manage without it being a song. “She is going to be blown away.” 

Beca took her phone back with a deep red blush all over her face and neck. “I just want her to understand how I feel, ya know?”

“She knows, Becs.” Stacie patted her friend on the back before nudging her forward when Chloe turned back with her hand out for Beca to take when they reached where they were having lunch. 

After being seated at a long table in the back - Jessica, Ashley, Stacie, and Aubrey on one side with Emily, Flo, Beca and Chloe on the other with Lilly and Cynthia-Rose on the ends - those who would be eating all opened their menus. 

“I am starving.” Cynthia-Rose said as she tried to figure out just how much she needed to eat to recover from Aubrey. 

“Me too. I thought I’d skip breakfast not knowing Aubrey was a drill instructor in a former life.” Beca smirked at her, earning herself an eye roll from the vampire. 

“Her father is Army, it would be a drill sergeant.” Stacie said without looking up from her menu. 

“Marines have drill instructors.” Aubrey explained.

“A thousand pardons.” Beca chuckled. 

“Did you ever think of joining up?” Emily asked, looking over her menu. 

“Not really.” Aubrey shook her head. “As much as I do love my father, his work has taken him away when I was growing up for months at a time. I never understood how someone could have a mate, kids, and just be gone for months at a time from them.” 

“No.” Stacie whispered. “I don’t either.” 

“I don’t think I could do a month away from you.” Jessica held tightly to Ashley’s hand. 

“Same.” Ashley squeezed her mate’s hand.

The waitress came to take their orders, needing a full three pages on her notepad to write down all of the food. Everyone who ate was hungry and being werewolves on top of that meant food, and lots of it. 

Emily looked down at her phone when a text came in and grinned. “My mom just texted me. A bunch of the old Bellas are coming to see us at the semi’s in Chicago. She said like a dozen or so of the ones when she was in school will be there, and some from the 90’s too.” 

“Seriously? It’s like a mini Bella reunion.” Flo smiled at the thought of more Bellas around. 

“No added pressure or anything.” Beca winced. 

“My mom talks so much about all of the good times with the Bellas. And some of them are still huge parts of her life. My godmother, Angel, was in the Bellas with her.” Emily smiled.

“How much family are we expecting?” Aubrey asked, her mind trying to figure out how to have some sort of event for everyone. 

Lilly held up two fingers.. 

“My parents can’t make the semi’s but they should be there for the finals when we make it.” Cynthia-Rose piped up. 

“My aunt wants to be there but she said work won’t let her go.” Flo said.

“Both Ashley and my parents will be there, not our brother's though.” Jessica supplied. 

“My dad is trying to figure out if he can go. Fifty, fifty with him.” Beca shrugged. 

“My parents won’t but I almost have Sam talked into it.” Stacie really wanted to see her sister. The information over Christmas she found out about Sam and Alex making the desire to catch up with her sister grow even more. 

“Alex will be there.” Aubrey shared a look with Stacie. 

“I’ll see if we can get a space at the hotel to have something.” Chloe looked at Aubrey, almost able to read her mind at this point. 

“It would be nice to try to do something.” Aubrey nodded. “Maybe the first night we're there so whatever result things are upbeat.”

“We’re going to win, Posen.” Stacie leaned in to kiss her mate’s cheek. “And then I’m going to tug you off stage so I can kiss you because I know it would kill your vampire pride to have me do it on stage.”

Aubrey snorted. “It wouldn’t kill my pride, it might give me a small stroke though.”

“Flying there is going to be fun at least.” Chloe grinned. “I love flying. It’s always so much fun.”

“Yeah, because you don’t get an extra pat down because the TSA person thinks you have something stuffed in your bra.” Stacie laughed. 

“They do that to me too.” Cynthia-Rose made a face. “It’s annoying.”

“I hate flying.” Jessica made a bit of a face.

“It messes with our senses sometimes. And that many humans in one place if we’re at all hungry can be an issue. Plus blood can’t go through TSA so if we get stuck somewhere we’re out of luck.” Ashley sighed. 

“How are we getting your blood there?” Stacie asked, remembering how regionals went when it came to blood. 

“Lilly offered to be the back up blood source for Jess and me if we’re ever stuck and out of blood.” Ashley smiled over at her. 

Lilly just smiled proudly. 

“We needed a back up if something goes wrong and Lilly offered.” Aubrey said as Stacie raised an eyebrow. 

“We’re hoping we don’t need a back up though.” Jessica added.

“Alex said she would get there a day early and make sure the order is secured and bring it to the hotel.” Aubrey added. “So 95% chance Lilly won’t be needed but the 5% chance happened once and I will not see us caught flat footed again.”

“You might not be in the Army babe, but you are a good captain.” Stacie smiled before all attention moved to the wait staff bringing out the food.

—————

Valentines day mercifully fell on a day when almost none of the Bellas had class. It gave the ones with plans a chance to prepare and the ones without plans a chance to have a day in, new pajamas and ice cream with a movie marathon. 

“Pass the chocolate chip cookie dough.” Cynthia-Rose requested to Flo. 

“Can we watch The Wedding Singer after this?” Flo asked, Lilly nodding in agreement. 

“Sounds good to me.” Cynthia-Rose nodded.

The three of them all cuddled together, glad to have each other today instead of heading out to try and hook up at one of the frat parties Lilly and Cynthia-Rose went to last year. 

Up in her room, Emily looked at her outfit in the mirror. She had on her favorite blue and silver dress with her hair curled and pulled back off of her face. She ran her hands over any wrinkles to make sure they were out before grabbing her purse when she heard a car pull in, hoping it was Benji. 

“Whoa.” Cynthia-Rose said as Emily stepped off the final step. Three whistles came from the couch at how good she looked. 

“You guys like it?” Emily smiled as she headed to the door. 

“You look great, Em.” Flo called after her. 

When she opened the door Benji was standing on the other side with a dozen roses, wearing the grey suit that he bought at the end of last year when he had to go to his cousin’s wedding. 

“You look incredible.” Benji was usually speechless around Emily when she looked as good as she did tonight. He was just learning to get a few words out so she knew he liked what she had on. 

“You look dashing.” Emily grinned, leaning in for a kiss. “Let me put these in water and we can go.”

Benji stepped into the living room to get out of the cold night air while he waited. He tilted his head as he watched Julia Roberts on screen. 

“In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight.” Benji quoted to Emily as Vivian said it on screen. 

“You know this movie?” Flo asked.

“A good movie is a good movie.” Benji smiled.

“Do you have any brothers?” Flo asked with a sigh.

“Sorry.” Benji shook his head. “I have some cousins but the ones our age both have boyfriends.”

“Lástima.” Flo quipped, it really was a pity. 

Emily laced their fingers together as they walked to the front door. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”

“Nope.” Benji shook his head. “I have a surprise that I managed not to spill the beans to you about, just another few minutes and you’ll know.”

Emily kissed his cheek before almost running to his warm car so she didn’t have to stand outside in the cold in her dress. 

The drive to where they were going only took about ten minutes. As they got out and handed up to an apartment, Emily felt confused.

“Why are we breaking into someone’s apartment?” Emily asked as Benji used a key to open a door.

“We’re not. I promise. I wouldn’t do that.” Benji said quickly. “I rented the place off of AirBnB.” 

Emily relaxed a bit now that she understood why they were where they were. “Oh yeah?” She let out a shy smile. 

“I wanted to cook you dinner.” Benji admitted once he hung their jackets out. “And both our places have people in them so I found a place that had a nice kitchen. I got the keys and stocked the fridge this afternoon so you can relax and I can cook and then we can have a nice dinner together.”

Emily felt herself fall a little deeper for her acapella loving magician. She stepped into Benji’s arms to give him a soft kiss, her arms around his neck. There was a tenderness in the way he touched her - there always was - that made her feel a pull somewhere in her middle. 

“Do we have the place all night?” Emily whispered. 

Benji just nodded. 

“Is there a bed?” Emily whispered. 

Benji nodded again. 

“Good. I think we’re going to need it.” Emily kissed his cheek before she forced herself to step back.

Benji closed his eyes, pinching the back of his hand roughly. “Not a dream this time. Alright. Alright.” He opened his eyes to the slight of a very amused Emily Junk.

“You dream about that, huh?” Emily smoothed his suit jacket lapel. 

“Yeah, Em.” Benji admitted. 

“Me too.” Emily kissed his cheek before heading to the kitchen.

—————

Jessica and Ashley’s overall plan seemed to pay off. Leave the one class both of them had, walk to Jessica’s car and head to the hotel room that Ashley booked them. They both had packed in a shared bag the night before. 

“This was a great idea.” Ashley rested her head against the side of the extra large tub the hotel room had. 

“A giant bubble bath or being naked together?” Jessica asked with a laugh.

“Yes.” Ashley laughed right along with her. 

Jessica rested her hand on Ashley’s calf as they soaked the heat up from the water. Just because they didn’t have Aubrey’s knack for feeling cold didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy the warmth of the water. 

“Mom asked me what my plans were for spring break. I thought we could go see your parents since we saw mine at Christmas?”

Ashley agreed with a nod. “I think hearing I found my mate so young into such a long potential lifetime really spooked them. Mom thinks Dad is worried I don’t understand the risk I took. I think Dad doesn’t understand it was a bigger risk not marking you.”

“Even if you hadn’t I would have still been your girlfriend.” Jessica reminded her. 

“It wasn’t enough.” Ashley admitted. 

“No, it wasn’t.” Jessica agreed. 

“You’re happy we did it?” Ashley asked.

Jessica didn’t answer. Instead of that she moved forward in the tub to kiss her mate, letting her fangs fall down to bite her lip. She licked at the blood that was drawn on her mate’s bottom lip. 

“It’s time to get out of the tub.” 

—————

Beca felt more adult sitting across the candle lit table from Chloe, both dressed up, than she had at just about any other point in her life. The candlelight, the outfits, the food they just gorged themselves on, the feeling of having her mate looking at her with the flush from the two glasses of wine she ordered. 

“I have something for you.” Beca’s hand shook though she would always be amazed her voice didn’t. 

“Oh yeah?” Chloe’s lit up the room with her bright smile. 

Beca reached into her jacket pocket for a ring box, sliding it across the table with her left hand. A hand that had the brass ring that Chloe gave her for Christmas proudly on her ring finger. She set the box in front of Chloe before letting her banded hand rest over her mate’s. 

“You were right. When you said that in each relationship giving each other the mark meant something different. And for me it means forever. Growing up and growing old and doing it together. Happy Valentine's day, Chloe.” 

Chloe let out a shaky breath as she used one hand to open the ring box. The brass band inside was thinner than Beca’s and it was carved with Serch Bythol - the Celtic symbol for everlasting love - all the way around. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

Chloe felt a tear slip down her cheek, a bit overwhelmed by how much she loved her mate. The feeling of having a family, a home, was much sought after by the redhead and now she found it. 

“May I?” Beca asked, taking the ring out of the box.

“Please.” Chloe held her hand out for Beca to slide the ring on. 

Beca felt something inside of her shift in a comforting way as she saw how well the brass finish looked against Chloe’s skin. 

“Let’s go.” Chloe whispered, standing up with her hand out for Beca.

The walk to the hotel was a short one. It felt like it took hours to the pair. When they hit the button in the elevator for their floor, Beca reached for Chloe’s hand after lighting the ring around the number. 

“I have one more surprise for you.” Beca admitted.

“I need to give you your gifts too.” Chloe looked over at her. “You deserve gifts tonight too.”

Beca just tugged Chloe to their room, using the key card to open the door to a room with roses and a bucket of Champagne chilling and soft lights casting the room in a warm glow. 

“Oh Beca.” Chloe brought her free hand to her mouth as she looked around at all the effort Beca put into the moment. 

“You like it?” Beca asked. Shy. Unsure. But hopeful. 

“I love it.” Chloe tugged her in, arms wrapping around Beca’s waist. 

Before Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe’s neck she took her phone out and hit play on the song she had written and managed to record for Chloe. 

“Dance with me?” Beca asked as the music started. 

Chloe didn’t realize it was Beca singing at first. When she figured it out she pulled her mate even closer, nuzzling her neck and leaving soft kisses against her skin.

Late night angel, daylight ringing bell / She puts the song in my sail/ And the wind hums along / Golden daisy, my sunshine lady / If she can't save me / I’d rather be lost

“I wrote this about you.” Beca said needlessly. 

“It better be about me.” Chloe whispered without any bite.

She's the song that I wanna sing / The book that I wanna read / When the day gets long, and my strength is gone / She comes runnin' back to me / She’s the hand that I wanna hold / The story that never gets old / She’s a melody, flowin' soft and sweet / She’s the song, that I wanna sing

“Music means everything to me.” Beca tilted her head to give Chloe a little more access to her neck. “You mean more.”

“I love you too.” Chloe whispered.

Wide-eyed Dreamer, restless sleeper / She’s a reckless believer / In all my foolish plans / And no matter where I go / I will always keep her close / She’s my rock, she's my blood, she's my soul / And she makes me better man

Beca hummed the song softly as Chloe and she danced in the middle of their hotel room. Having the words she spent so long finding finally out in the open for Chloe felt like a weight lifted off of her chest. 

As the song finished, Chloe stopped moving, pulling back to look at her mate. “Put it on my phone when we get home? I want to be able to play it every day.”

“Of course.” Beca promised. 

“I have something for you. It’s not really my gift to you but it’s something I wanted you to see.” Chloe kissed her before pulling away. She went over to the bag she gave Beca to put in their hotel room. Inside of it was a piece of paper that she brought over to Beca, holding it out between them.

“A form from the state of Georgia?” Beca asked.

“I just got it two days ago.” Chloe bit her lip.

It was a copy of the paperwork officially changing Chloe’s legal name. 

“I’m not Chloe Beale anymore. Not emotionally for a long time and now not legally. The judge granted my name change. Legally I am now Chloe Jane Mitchell.” 

Beca’s eyes looked up from the paper in her hands to Chloe’s eyes. 

“Oh, Chlo.” Beca’s breathing picked up at the realization that her mate and she now shared a last name. Married by human standards or not they were as joined as could be. 

“I managed to get some of the process going before winter break was over and thankfully things went smoothly.” Chloe took the paper back and tucked it back in her bag. 

“I can’t believe we’re both Mitchell’s now.” Beca pulled Chloe in again to give her a firm kiss. 

“Give me a moment?”

Beca watched Chloe take the bag into the bathroom. With a grin on her lips she headed over to the champagne. She popped the cork before pouring them each a glass. 

Beca was really glad she didn’t have anything in her hands when Chloe stepped out of the bathroom.

Freckled skin wrapped in lace made Chloe look eatable. And a wolfish grin which made Beca feel a surge of heat head straight to her center. 

“Fuck.” Beca breathed out.

“Yeah Becs.” Chloe stepped to her. “We’re going to.”

—————

Stacie would never - and she had nearly forever ahead of her - get over the pleasure of Aubrey’s fangs and fingers inside of her body at the same time. The pleasure was different between the two but the sum was greater than the two parts in their effect on her.

And oh man did Aubrey understand the effect to the fullest. 

“You’re going to kill me doing that one day.” Because Stacie’s eyes were still closed when Aubrey rolled off of her she didn’t see how cocky Aubrey’s smirk was or how dark her green eyes were. 

“But think of what a way it would be to go.” Aubrey took pride in being excellent at things in her life. Being excellent at making love to her mate ranked high on that list. 

Stacie managed to open one eye and then the other. She forced her body to roll to her side so she could cuddle against Aubrey’s side in a reverse of how they usually laid in bed. The arm around her shoulders and the hand on her upper arm almost lulled her to sleep as she fought against the heaviness in her limbs from the pleasure she still felt. 

“I love you.” Stacie whispered as her finger traced over Aubrey’s abdominal muscles. 

“I love you.” 

Stacie didn’t say anything for a few heartbeats. There were so many emotions swirling around in her mind as she laid there in the firelight with her mate. 

“When I took you for a ride on my motorcycle in August I didn’t know we’d be here in February.” Stacie whispered. 

“When I got on your motorcycle I thought maybe by Christmas I’d accept a date.” Aubrey admitted. 

“It was fast.” Stacie gave voice to what they both knew. “Aubrey there is nothing I would do differently. Nothing. Because here in this bed in this cabin? This is where I want to be even if I could be anywhere in the whole world.”

Aubrey still had trouble believing that but Stacie had picked her over and over again their whole time knowing each other. Picked her as a friend to spend time studying with and to have coffee with. Picked her as someone to dance a slow dance with towards fully having feelings. Picked her as a mate, as someone to mark and be marked. At some point she just had to accept Stacie would always pick her. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“I’m not a reward or a punishment.” Stacie sat up, bare chested and bare emotions in her eyes. “You don’t deserve me and I don’t deserve you. I choose you and you choose me. We’re here by choice, not because we’re being rewarded for being good. Because I love you and would love you even if you weren’t deserving of reward.”

Aubrey lifted her hand up Stacie’s cheek. “You say things like that and defend us to me when I put up no fight against us. But the way you do it somehow melts my heart in a way that makes me love to hear the defense anyway.”

Stacie bent down to press a kiss to her mate’s lips. She bit her bottom lip, nibbling just a bit before pulling back. 

“Sometimes I say the quiet part out loud because hearing it out loud settles me.” Stacie laid back down, her arm wrapped tight around Aubrey’s waist. 

Aubrey closed her eyes to allow a moment to soak the feeling of being full on Stacie’s blood, on her warmth, on her love. 

“I think we should spend spring break with my family.” 

Aubrey’s eyes opened as she nudged Stacie so she could sit up. “You want to take me home to your parents?”

Stacie was a bit nervous now. “You are my mate. For life. Like you said we’re married if we just file the paperwork. And it’s un-take-back-able. We’re together. I want my mom to meet you and try to find something to cook you because she feeds people to show love. And I want dad to pour you some whiskey and tell you that he’s sure you’ll like this one. I want Sam to say things that make me blush and make you laugh as you think of what an idiot I can be while still being really smart too. I want you to go to church with us and hold my hand while we sing the hymns. I might have my own pack, I might be a real grown up - sort of - but they are part of me and I want you to know them and they do know you.”

Aubrey leaned forward to rest her forehead against Stacie’s shoulder. Of course she wanted to take her home. It was only natural that she would want them to spend time around her family. Yet it made Aubrey nervous in a way that few things outside the Bellas and her own family rarely did. 

“Of course we can go visit your family.” Aubrey kept her forehead pressed to Stacie’s armas her hand splayed across her hip. 

“They don’t bite.” Stacie whispered. It took her a moment before she laughed softly at the moment, earning a small pinch from Aubrey. 

“I warn you. I have never really gone to church before though.” Aubrey admitted. 

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Stacie admitted. “Can you? I mean can vampires go on holy ground?”

“Some.” Aubrey whispered. “Those who have not taken a life. Holy grounds for a vampire who has taken a life, burns. Like being in the sun at high noon for hours but the process takes minutes.” She explained. “For me it would just make me feel a slight unease. For my mother it would be suicide.” 

“If you don’t want to go Aubrey, it’s alright.” Stacie needed her to know that.

“I want to go. Not just because I want your family to like me. Which I do. Very much.” Aubrey said.

“They are going to like you because I love you. When they see us together, when they see the way that the two of us interact with each other, they are going to understand.” Stacie said. 

“I am utterly different with you than I am with anyone else. Even with Chloe.” Aubrey still was amazed how Stacie brought out a side of her that she didn’t really know what to do with. 

“It’s because of the whole soulmates thing, Bree. Remember that thing you mentioned on our first official date?” Stacie chuckled.

“I said you filled in the broken parts of my soul. You inferred I meant you were my soulmate.” Aubrey reminded her. 

“Semantics.” Stacie kissed the side of Aubrey’s head. “I want you to meet Sam and my parents. I want you to see the town I grew up in. Even if it’s nothing like Virginia. Even if it’s small and a little broken. It’s where parts of me broke that you’ve helped put back together. I want you to understand why they were broken in the first place.”

Aubrey lifted her head up. “Take me home.” She pressed her lips to Stacie’s. “So I can know parts of you that you can put into words. So I can hear stories from Sam and meet the pack that helped raise you. And your parents who managed to survive and help you become the woman I love.”

“Spring break I’ll make the arrangements. It’s still a little while off yet but I can ask them to make sure they are good with it, and they will be, and we can get our plane tickets and stuff.” Stacie kissed her mate’s jaw. 

“If we make the finals, I want to buy them plane tickets out to see.” Aubrey refused to say when they made the finals, not wanting to jinx them. 

“When we make the finals, I will book them tickets.” Stacie promised. 

“Are you getting more comfortable using the money you have at your disposal?” Aubrey asked as they laid down. This time with Stacie on her back and Aubrey curled up beside her. 

“Yes and no.” Stacie trailed her fingers up and down Aubrey’s spine. “I’m still not totally comfortable with using your money. But helping Dr. Casey with her work has been great over the last few weeks. Which means I don’t have time for a job so I kind of have to use it. I know you want me to so I’m trying to get adjusted.”

“When we are out of college and you’re working then you won’t be just relaying on the funds in our joint account.” Aubrey pointed out as her fingers ran over her mate’s hip. “We can live off our salaries. For the most part. I do have somewhat expensive tastes, I can admit that.”

“You? Aubrey Posen? Why I never.” Stacie teased as her lips turned to a smile. “I know you do and you have always had the money to indulge them when you’ve wanted. We can have a lifestyle we want. As much as you do have expensive tastes, you don’t have pretentious tastes.”

Aubrey tried to settle all of the emotions inside of her and those coming to her through her bond with Stacie. 

“Close your eyes for a little while, Bree.” Stacie said when she felt the emotional toll this conversation had on Aubrey and felt what it had done to herself. “Nap and then I am going to see if I can keep you pinned for a full round.”

Aubrey cuddled her firmly against her mate. “Good luck with that.”

—————

The morning the Bellas were leaving for Chicago was an early wake up call for everyone. A flight out at seven in the morning meant the group needed to leave the house by four-thirty to make the trip to the airport and make it to the other side of the TSA line. 

“Kill me.” Beca groaned as she leaned against her mate in the line. It was long for this time of morning but Aubrey made sure they got here with plenty of time. 

“When we get on the other side of the line we can get breakfast.” Chloe wrapped her arm around her shoulders. 

“Coffee?” Beca perked up a little. 

“Coffee .” Chloe promised as Beca cuddled more into her side. 

The line moved forward, the Bellas all shifting with it. The group was mostly sleeping on their feet with the exception of the three vampires who didn’t feel the same disgruntlement at being up this early. 

“Is there a charm to like, wake me up?” Stacie yawned as the line itched forward again. She had her arm wrapped around Aubrey’s waist more to keep her close than to lean on her for support. 

“Yes, but I’m not doing it in public.” Aubrey didn’t look up from her phone.

“What fun is that?” Stacie asked. 

“If I use it then anyone affected by it that isn’t you could report me for it. And then we miss semi’s while I’m in a holding cell. And while handcuffs between you and I may be an option, I rather not be in them outside our bedroom.” Aubrey leaned in to whisper into Stacie’s ear to spare anyone else hearing it. 

Stacie had to close her eyes at the mention of handcuffs. “Yup. I’m going to need to add that one to the list.” She had started making a list of fun things for them to try together. 

“Did that wake you up enough until you get coffee?” Aubrey asked innocently. 

“Yes.” Stacie rolled her eyes. 

The line inched forward again and again the Bellas moved with it, most of them barely having their eyes opened at all. Even though Jessica and Ashley were full awake they stayed quiet for their friends sake. 

Soon enough the Bellas were all through TSA without any major issues. Stacie got an extra pat down - she expected and Aubrey watched closely - as well as Cynthia-Rose and for some reason Emily. 

“Coffee. I need coffee.” Beca tugged Chloe along with her as they hit the coffee place just on the other side of the TSA line. 

“You two want anything?” Flo asked Ashley and Jessica as they stood with all of the carry ons so the others could stand in line without them. 

“Hot chocolate?” Jessica asked, feeling an odd craving for one. 

“I got it.’ Flo smiled, saving off the money Jessica reached for. 

“Thanks.” Jessica smiled, leaning in to Ashley’s side. 

Ashley watched over the others as they stood in line to grab something for breakfast while holding on to her mate. Seeing them interact with each other warmed her in a way that had nothing to do with temperature. 

“We have a really good pack, don’t we?” Jessica smiled as she watched Lilly trying to teach Emily how to twirl a pen between her fingers the way she could. 

“Yeah, they are great.” Ashley smiled at the way Cynthia-Rose and Flo were teasing Beca as Chloe laughed and held her close to her as they moved up in line. 

They had just over a half hour when the plane would start boarding when they reached their terminal. Everyone found a seat in a small section that didn’t have anyone else in. They all sat, waiting for their sections to be called. Aubrey used some of her resources to get them bumped up from coach to business class for the trip.

“How are you with flying?” Stacie asked from next to Aubrey as they waited.

“I do not enjoy it.” Aubrey admitted.

“What can I do to make you enjoy it more?” Stacie took her hand. 

“Just sit next to me, let me hold your hand.” Aubrey knew there wasn’t much that she could during the flight to really soothe herself. She just had to deal with the discomfort. 

“Will biting me help?” Stacie dropped her voice down. 

Aubrey shifted her head just a little to look at Stacie seriously. “Biting you always helps. But unless we have extreme turbulence I will be alright. The plane disturbs my senses which just throws me off.”

“What if you put your hand against my chest so you can feel my heart beating? Will that help?” Stacie asked, knowing Aubrey tuned into her heartbeat when she was stressed as a focus point. 

“Yes.” Aubrey thought for a moment before she nodded. 

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Stacie smiled. 

“Em, do you mind if Aubrey takes the window seat?” Stacie asked, wanting to block her off from the last of the plane as much as she could. 

“I like being on the end. I feel less claustrophobic that way.” Emily smiled. 

Beca - who two large coffees in - was finally starting to wake up, let out a huge yawn as she kept her head on Chloe’s shoulder. 

“Do you want inside or outside?” Beca asked Flo. 

“Window? This is my first time flying and being old enough to remember it.” Flo requested. “I drive when I go back home to Miami.”

“Not a problem.” Beca smiled, her fingers playing with Chloe. “Chloe was getting middle anyway.” 

“Oh, was I?” Chloe chuckled. 

“I am always in the middle since I’m tiny. I am sharing with you, honey.” Beca teased as she lifted her head off of Chloe’s shoulder to kiss her cheek.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Chloe rolled her eyes but the look written over the rest of her face was pure love.

“Lilly, are you going to be alright not sitting with any of the other Bellas?” Jessica asked. 

Lilly nodded. “I have podcasts.” She said, surprisingly loudly. 

When their section was called the Bellas all made their way onto the plane as orderly as the Bellas ever did anything. The group was all together, making it easier for Aubrey to do a mental count to make sure they weren’t leaving anyone behind. 

“Here.” Stacie grabbed Aubrey’s hand and rested it directly over her heart as the pair sat with the armrest lifted between them. “Can you feel it beating?”

“Yes.” Aubrey nodded as she tried to keep herself focused on the steady rhythm that she felt under her palm. The rhythm was steady, strong and textbook. Aubrey often wondered if Stacie’s heartbeat was the only thing about her that was perfectly ordinary. Because she was more than sure the rest of her wasn’t.

“I’m going to zone out for the flight. If you guys need to get past just poke me.” Emily smiled before putting her headphones in. 

Across from them Chloe sat between Flo and Beca. Beca had managed to convince Chloe to let her wear one of her hoodies, more so Chloe’s scent was around her than because she was cold. 

“I can’t wait to see what things look like from a mile high.” Flo smiled as she already looked out the window. 

“It’s really cool when you pass over another city or something at night and you see all the lights and stuff.” Beca smiled as she leaned against Chloe. 

Cynthia-Rose, who was directly behind Beca, stretched her legs out under the seat in front of her. 

“You two alright?” Cynthia-Rose asked as Jessica and Ashley held both of the other’s hands in their own.

“We hate flying.” Jessica made a face as she rested her head on her mate’s shoulder. 

“When we get into the air, want to watch Rent? I brought my laptop and the flight is just long enough for us to watch it.” Cynthia-Rose suggested. 

“Oh, that might be a good way to get through the flight.” Ashley smiled at Jessica who agreed with a smile of her own.

Lilly sat behind Aubrey, already asleep with her hoodie over her head and her arms crossed.

“This is your pilot speaking.” A voice came over the loudspeaker. “We are cleared for take off, it’s about a two hour flight and we’re expecting blue skies and fair winds.”

Aubrey had to admit it was the most relaxed she had ever been on a plane. Stacie’s heartbeat didn’t really change much for the flight, keeping Aubrey calm. 

“We’re going to be landing in a few minutes.” Stacie turned her head to look at her mate. “Give me your hand so if you need to squeeze you can. Just don’t break it, ok?”

Aubrey knew she could if she didn’t focus on not doing just that. “Here.” She kept one hand on Stacie’s chest while offering the other so Stacie could hold it. 

“Just remember we’ll be on the ground soon and Alex is meeting us at the airport to make sure we all get to our hotel safely. She’s already got the blood for Jess and Ashley on ice.” Stacie kissed her temple. 

“Alex agreed to go with us to our run through.” Aubrey said. She was excited to have someone else to watch from where the judges would be sitting to make sure that everything they were doing would work. She couldn’t watch from the same position since she was needed on stage herself. It being her sister and a former captain helped.“She said she was looking forward to putting her Captain’s hat back on for a bit.”

“I’m sure she is.” 

The plane was on the tarmac less than five minutes later. All the Bellas save one moving once they were allowed to. Lilly didn't move until Aubrey leaned over the top of the seat to shake her shoulder to wake her. 

Alex was waiting for them when they got off the plane at baggage claim. All the Bellas brought carry-ons this trip while Aubrey checked two bags with everything they needed that couldn’t be carried on. 

“Hey little sister.” Alex offered Aubrey a hug, holding her a moment as she saw her coming back to herself now that she was off the plane.

“Alex.” Aubrey returned the tight hug. 

Chloe waited her turn again before accepting the tight hug from the vampire. Seeing Alex again really made this trip ever better than it normally would have been. 

“Hey Stacie, Beca.” Alex smiled at the two werewolves. 

Aubrey turned to the other Bellas who hadn’t met her sister as they waited for their two bags to come through the baggage carousel. 

“Everyone, this is my sister Alex, the former Bella captain.” Aubrey introduced her. “Alex this is Emily, Jessica, Ashley, Flo, Cynthia-Rose, and Lilly.” She pointed each out. 

“It’s nice to meet you all. Aubrey had told me a lot of the goings on of the current group. I’m excited to see what you have in store to make the Bella name proud.” Alex smiled at the group. 

The baggage carousel jumped to life and soon after the eleven were on their way to the hotel. 

—————

Alex had led the Bellas for two years as captain and spent four years of her life trying to become better and make them better. Sitting in one of the chairs that would tomorrow hold a judge one thing was very clear. 

Aubrey’s Bellas were better than any Bellas that had come before them. 

Between the choreography Chloe spearheaded with Stacie helping her, Beca’s mastery of mash ups and musical ability overall, Aubrey’s attention to detail in breaking the songs down for the group, the way Lilly and Ashley were able to find ways to make sounds that Alex had to double check weren’t pre recorded they were so good, Jessica high notes to round out Cynthia-Rose’s style, Flo’s flair and Emily’s raw talent it was a group Alex wouldn’t want to have to go up against them. 

Alex had a few notes but they were minor. A slight delay on a move here or there, a shift in where a Bella was standing so the judges could see the group more clearly, it all felt nit picky but that was what a Posen would need to settle their minds that there were no bigger issues at play. 

“I think I need to tell Mother and Dad to book tickets to New York.” Alex came down to the stage when Aubrey gestured for her. 

“You think?” Chloe asked, looking up at her first Bella captain. 

“I would bet my Bella scarf on it.” Alex nodded. 

Beca beamed at the praise even if Aubrey shifted under it. She wasn’t sold that they were going to win semi’s but she knew at this point voicing that might end up doing more harm to the group’s mentality than good.

“Let’s get back to the hotel and shower. The older Bellas are all going to be there in a few hours for the mini reunion.” Aubrey gave the group the marching orders. 

When the Bellas all walked into the hotel lobby there was someone waiting for them. Tall with dark hair that was cut to her shoulders, green eyes and a smile that could lay a grown man low at the power of it. 

When Alex saw Sam standing there she felt drawn to her at the same time she found herself rooted to the spot she saw her. 

Green eyes met blue before green eyes turned away toward another set, arms opening up as Stacie rushed into them.

“Sammy!” Stacie grinned as she hugged tightly to her older sister. 

“Hey Stacia.” Sam hugged tight to her little sister to keep herself from pulling away from her to go talk to Alex. 

“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Stacie grinned as she pulled back. She shifted when she saw where Sam was looking to try and draw her attention back.

Sam shook her head a bit to clear it before painting a grin on her face. “I missed you. So much. I didn’t realize how much losing my partner in crime would make my life boring.”

“I tried to tell you that I was the fun one.” Stacie teased. 

“Excuse me for one second, ok?” Sam couldn’t help it. She pulled away from her sister to walk the short distance that felt like miles over to Alex. 

“Can we talk, in private?” Sam whispered when she reached the vampire. “Please?”

Alex didn’t have words for Sam right now but she forced herself to nod. Just being this close to her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. 

“I’ll see you tonight.” Alex told Aubrey before the pair headed to the elevator to head upstairs to Alex's hotel room. 

Stacie walked over to her mate, palm sliding against palm until their fingers were tangled. “What are the chances Sam goes home after this trip?”

“That would very much depend on where she wants home to be after this trip, don’t you think?” Aubrey asked.

—————

“You left.” Sam whispered.

“I did. bBut you didn’t come after me.” Alex closed her eyes.

“I didn’t know how.” Sam looked at the woman she had been thinking about every night for years. “You came into my life and you changed everything in a single look. How do I go after all of that when it runs away?”

“He is in a better position to give you what you wanted.” Alex’s voice was full of bile at the notion someone was better for Sam that she was. 

“He’s in a better position to give me what you are convinced I wanted, you mean.” Sam challenged her.

Alex’s eyes opened. 

“I was never going to pick him, Alex. I just needed to show him a good time to get a little good will for my parents. I tried to explain that. I thought you understood that.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes focused anywhere but Alex. 

“You were going to pick me?” Alex sucked in a breath. 

“I still would.” Sam admitted, looking up. 

“Fuck.”

—————

“What do we do if our sisters end up together?” Stacie asked as she rested her head in Aubrey’s lap on their hotel bed. 

“Alex and Sam deserve our support.” Aubrey ran her fingers through her mate’s hair. 

“I want Sam to feel like I do.” Stacie closed her eyes at the feeling of Aubrey’s nails against her scalp. 

“How’s that?” Aubrey asked. 

“Like the broken parts of my soul have been filled in.” Stacie whispered, her eyes opening as a smile came to her lips.

—————

As Aubrey looked around the room she was impressed that everyone seemed to be having a good time. She was glad Chloe had managed to get the hotel to let them use the small entertaining space and got them to serve good at a reasonable price. 

Kathrine Junk walked over to her with a smile.

“You are hosting a bunch of Bellas without any police being called, any trips to the local hospital and plenty of great singing. Well done, Posen.” She smiled at the younger captain. 

“Thank you.” Aubrey smiled.

“You know when I was a captain, we dreamed of winning an ICCA title. And your team might have the best chance of any Bellas team. You have had help but a lot of it is down to you.” Katheine looked at her with pride in her eyes. “Good job.”

“That means a lot, thank you.”

Aubrey and Katherine both turned their heads when Benji came to the partly opened door - wearing his Treblemakers jacket from their dinner out. 

“Oh no.” Aubrey knew this would go poorly.

Emily tugged him through the door, kissing him softly. She had a few drinks - under the watchful eye of just about everyone in the room. 

“Goodnight, Benji.” Emily hugged him as she somehow managed to cuddle to him while standing. 

As they stood there some of the older Bellas gathered around. 

“Katherine, your daughter is dating a Treblemaker?” One asked.

“How could you allow this?” Another asked Aubrey.

“Think of the oath!” A third spoke up.

“Hey, Benji is a good dude.” Beca defended, talking over to stand between the young couple and the older Bellas. “I wouldn’t let him around Emily if he wasn’t.” 

“He’s a Treblemaker.” One of the older Bellas said dryly. 

Benji started to get nervous, he just held Emily a little tighter. He wasn’t sure if he should try to speak up at this point or not. 

“He really is a good person.” Aubrey and Katherine both came over. 

“The Treblemakers aren’t the same as they were when we were in college.” Katherine explained. 

No one seemed to believe her from the older Bellas. 

“I will vouch for him on my Bella scarf.” Aubrey stepped forward, undoing the knot to pull it from around her neck. 

Vouching for someone on your Bella scarf was a high honor and not something to be taken lightly. The fact a Bella captain would do it managed to shut all of the older Bellas up. 

“Well then.” Katherine smiled when they all looked around. “I’ll pour the next round.”

The hotel only allowed them in the room until eleven though. At that point groups broke away, mostly following their own age groups. 

That’s how Alex and Sam ended up in Aubrey and Stacie’s hotel room with the rest of the current Bellas. The pair sat side by side with a few inches between them instead of shoulder to shoulder like Aubrey and Stacie or in each other’s laps like Beca was sitting with Chloe. 

“We should totally play a game.” Chloe grinned at the idea. 

“Truth or dare!” Emily grinned as she looked around at her fellow Bellas. 

“Oh God.” Sam groaned. “I am too old for this.”

“Come on Sammy, you aren’t that old.” Stacie nudged her sister’s foot with her own. 

“Fine.” Sam pushed herself off of the floor. “But I am getting something to drink. I’m not doing this sober.”

“We should use the bottle trick though.” Cynthia-Rose half finished her water before putting it in the floor so when it was spun it could land on someone. “So it’s more fair.”

“Yes, the honor of truth or dare must not be questioned.” Flo said seriously. 

Emily - it was her idea after all - spun the bottle and had it land on Chloe and Beca. 

“Um, Beca, truth or dare?” Emily asked, picking one of the two.

“Truth.” Beca said.

Emily thought about it for a moment before giggling to herself. “What would you do if you were the opposite sex for a month?”

Beca felt Chloe laughing before she had a chance to answer. 

“Well, Chloe would look really good pregnant.” Beca snorted as she reached for her cup to take a long swig. Her face and neck were flushed but she managed not to look too mortified. “So Chloe.”

Beca reached over, spinning the bottle and having it land on Ashley. 

“Truth or dare, Ash?” Beca asked.

“Dare.” Ashley decided.

“I dare you to show us the last photo you took.” Beca said, not sure how good it was until Ashley winced. 

“Damn it.” Ashley grumbled as she showed the group a selfie of her with making the weirdest face that she could. 

Ashley spun and had it land on Cynthia-Rose. 

“Dare.” Cynthia-Rose said before the question was asked. 

“I dare you to … walk on your hands from one side of the room to the other. If you need someone to hold you legs up, that’s ok.” Ashley grinned at the amused laugh that everyone gave. 

“Stacie, come on, I’ll need the help.” The pair stood up and went to the far side of the room. 

Stacie grabbed Cynthia-Rose’s ankles once she was upright. It was a bit of a challenge dodging everyone in the room but they made it to the other side of the room with minimal damage to anyone in the room. 

A round of cheers came from the others as the pair came back over.

“Thank you, thank you.” Cynthia-Rose laughed with a bow before she took her seat. 

The group kept going, turn after turn. Chloe had to belt out her favorite song while Flo had to answer what feature from everyone else she thought was their best, Jessica had to sit on Ashley’s lap while Emily had to drink a bottle of water upside down. 

Finally, just after midnight, Aubrey dismissed her Bellas so they could get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow.

“Hey.” Stacie said to Sam and Alex before they left. “You two alright?” She asked her sister and Aubrey’s. 

“Things are tentative but looking good.” Sam looked at Alex with a bit of a shy smile.

“Heads have been removed from asses as they are not hats.” Alex said dryly.

Both Stacie and Aubrey hugged their siblings before hugging the other’s. When they pulled back Sam’s hand found Alex’s before the pair left, both heading to the same room. 

—————

The Bellas waited off stage. They would be the last act of the night, a spot that either could win it for them or doom them. If they messed up it would be fresh in the judge’s minds but if they nailed it, then it would be the last thing they saw. 

“Everyone gather around.” Aubrey called when the Treblemakers, the group right before them, started. So far everyone had been very good. 

“For us to accomplish our goal of making it to the finals we have to nail our parts and show the judges what the Bellas can really do.” Aubrey looked around at her team. “Just remember to do it just as we practiced it, crisp movements, strong voices, perfect timing. We can do this and we’re going to. A win or second place gets us to the final.”

Stacie rested her hand on her mate’s back to try and soothe the nerves she could feel rolling off of her. 

“Whatever happens I’m proud of all of you.” Aubrey added. 

“Let’s do this.” Chloe put her hand in for the others to join her. 

“On three or after three?” Beca asked.

“On three.” Stacie chuckled. 

As the Treblemakers came off stage, Benji leaning in to kiss Emily as he passed, the Bellas all prepared to hit the stage.

Each Bella took her place as Aubrey lifted the pitch pipe to her lips. 

The Bellas were nearly perfect. 

But not perfect enough to win. 

They came in second. 

Aubrey clapped for the Belmont University The Beltones who took home the win. She felt Stacie’s hand on her back, trying to sooth the disappointment. 

“We’re going to the finals.” Stacie reminded her as the other Bellas soaked that excitement in. 

“And we’re going to win.” Aubrey all but growled. 


	9. Family is Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter of this story a little early. I hope y'all enjoy it. 
> 
> Again thanks G. :)

The week before midterms was the second busiest time for the Barden library. Students from all majors found themselves between the stacks of books, spread out in the study rooms and at the long tables as they worked on projects, papers and preparing for the tests they were about to sit though. 

Beca sat on one side of one of the long tables with her laptop open in front of her. Chloe next to her, working her way through a paper on werewolf transformation disorders while looking more and more frustrated when one of the sections wasn’t going the way she wanted. 

“Hey, will you watch our stuff?” Beca kept her voice low as she looked over at Stacie. She had thick books around her as she worked on her chemistry paper.

“No problem.” Stacie looked up for the first time in what felt like hours.

“We’re going to go grab coffees, want anything?” Beca grabbed her wallet from her bag. She tapped Chloe on the shoulder, wanting her mate to take a break. A break Chloe was very happy to agree to. 

“Yeah, that would be great. Just black is fine.” Stacie reached for her wallet but Beca and Chloe were already walking away. 

Beca lacked her and Chloe’s hands together as they stepped out of the library to walk to the cafe on the other side of campus. It wasn’t a long walk but it would be a nice way to spend ten minutes each way. 

“How’s the paper going?” Beca asked. 

“Almost done. But the ending is giving me some issues.” Chloe sighed. 

“You’ll figure it out.” Beca was sure that she would. 

They walked a few hundred feet more before Beca looked over as they walked, jackets pulled tight around them. It was the south so the winter wasn’t all that rough but in their human form both still could feel the chilly winds. 

“Have you thought more about what you want to do once you graduate?” Beca asked, knowing Chloe was having a hard time deciding what came next for her.

Chloe made a face at the question. It was a reasonable question for her mate to ask, she knew. The pair had a life to build together and what Chloe was going to do was a big part of the plans they needed to decide together. Yet she felt stuck between what she wanted and what she felt like she could have.

“Barden has a werewolf healer program.” Chloe started, her voice barely hearable even to Beca’s acute hearing. “It’s only two years, so I wouldn’t be a doctor. But I’d be able to treat wolves who need it with most day to day stuff. I could help deliver babies if the mother doesn’t want to or can’t go to the hospital.” She ducked her head and sighed. “I applied to it a few weeks ago but I don’t know if my grades are enough. If they aren’t then I’ll get a job around here until you’ve graduated and we head to LA.”

Beca let go of Chloe’s hand so she could wrap her arm around her mate’s waist. Between her boots and Chloe’s flats they were nearly the same height, making this much less awkward. 

“Chloe, I think you would be a great healer.” Beca said honestly. “You are one of the kindest people I know. And I’ve always liked seeing a healer when I needed one verses a human doctor who does medical school and then a werewolf residency or even a werewolf doctor.” 

“Yeah?” Chloe gave a shy smile. Beca’s confidence in her made her feel like she might not have been so foolish in applying. 

“There are going to be clinics you can work in no matter where we go.” Beca leaned to kiss her cheek as they stopped walking for a moment. “LA is the dream but New York or even Atlanta have recording companies I can work for. And all of them have clinics you can work in. So win/win, right?” Beca gave a warm smile. 

“I love you.” Chloe whispered as she leaned in to give her a kiss. 

“I love you too.” Beca laced their fingers together again. 

When they started walking again Beca looked back at Chloe. “You know.” She said, giving a soft smile. “You being a healer has another benefit.” 

“What’s that?” Chloe asked. 

“You can treat our pack.” Beca knew once upon a time it was the job of the mate of the alpha to act as a healer to the pack. While Beca wouldn’t ever expect Chloe to give up dreams to act as the pack healer, if she was going that way on her own Beca felt comfortable in her support. 

“I can.” The idea of it brought a smile to Chloe’s lips. 

By the time Chloe and Beca got back with the coffees, Aubrey had finished her meeting with her advisor and had taken up the seat next to Stacie. 

“Here ya go.” Beca handled the coffee over to Stacie before handing a tea to Aubrey. 

“We had a feeling you’d be around before the tea would get cold.” Chloe explained when Aubrey raised her eyebrow. 

“Thank you.” Aubrey accepted the tea. 

“I have like two or three hours left here.” Stacie looked up from her computer again. “After we’re wrapped for the day, you two want to grab dinner? I need to eat before Bree feeds or I’m going to feel hungover tomorrow.”

“I could eat.” Beca said. 

“Works for me.” Chloe needed to finish this paper and another project before they left and a time limit would help her push to get them finished. 

It was closer to three hours than two when they all finally packed up to head out to get the three werewolves food. Aubrey finished some revision on one of her papers, Chloe’s two projects were done, Stacie finished the longest paper she had to work on and Beca got a few of her music projects finished too. 

“What do you guys want to eat?” Stacie asked as the two couples walked out of the library. 

“We can go to Twelve Tables?” Chloe suggested. Twelve Tables served crazy amounts of pasta and homemade sauces to hungry college students. Before every home game the football team always filled the place to carb load before their game. 

“Works for me. I could eat a horse right now.” Beca liked how much food she got for cheap, she loved food, but hated spending money on it. 

“Me too.” Chloe smiled over at the others.

It was surprisingly quiet inside of the restaurant when the four of them walked in. Soon they were seated at a table in the back where they could warm up from the walk over and relax together. 

“I can’t believe they are having midterms the week of the full moon this year.” Beca grumbled as she looked over the menu.

“Right?” Stacie hated how hard she had to force herself to focus on her work with the pull of the full moon already tugging at her. 

“I have a solution of peppermint and ginseng at the house. Put a little in your coffee in the morning and it will help with the focus.” Aubrey offered. 

“And you were waiting for us to ask about something we didn’t know you had?” Stacie questioned.

Aubrey simply leaned over and kissed her cheek before settling back in her seat. “I have a lot of bottles in my room with a lot of different uses. One of the skills my mother did pass down to be with a bit of knowledge from her work as an Apothecary.”

“We’re putting a pin in this and coming back to it.” Stacie relented for the moment. 

“Speaking of your stash.” Chloe smiled. “I need some more of the willow bark extract.”

“I am going to mix a few things next week after midterms are done.” Aubrey added it to her mental list. 

“What does that do?” Beca asked. 

“I take it instead of aspirin when I have cramps.” Chloe explained, holding Beca’s hand in her lap. “Aspirin and I don’t always mix well but the Willow bark extract works like a charm.”

“Whatever works for you, as long as it’s safe.” Beca nodded. 

“It is.” Aubrey gave a smile to Beca. “I wouldn’t give anything to anyone that wasn’t safe.”

When the waiter came over to take the orders the three that were eating ordered enough for double that. But between the extra hours they were putting in to prepare for midterms and the full moon coming up, all three were nearly ravenous. 

“What are you two planning for spring break?” Stacie asked. She and Aubrey were heading to see her family but she wasn’t sure what the rest of the pack planned on doing yet. 

Chloe lit up at the question. “We’re going to Florida.” She had found a deal online and craved a little sun after a few months of winter. 

“I can’t say no to Chloe when she really wants something. Plus spending a few days laying on a beach doesn’t sound like the worst idea ever.” Beca wasn’t usually someone who wanted to be at a beach but the idea of Chloe in a bikini made her reconsider that.

“Sounds better than heading to the Pacific northwest the last week of March but Mom and Dad really want to meet Aubrey and I want them to.” Stacie smiled over at her mate. 

“Alex is still there and I think she will be for a while yet.” Aubrey gave a soft smile. 

From all Aubrey knew - and Alex was being shockingly tightlipped about all of it - Sam had broken her mark to her former mate. Alex hadn’t marked Sam yet but was feeding from her. It sounded like they had managed to both get out of their own way. 

“So yeah, back up there to see the family. And then back down here for the Bellas camping trip. Then full bore prepping for the ICCA finals.” Stacie knew once they got back from spring break Aubrey and Chloe would push them hard to prepare for finals. 

“I am really excited about the camping trip. You two didn’t get to go last year since Alice flaked out on planning it. But it’s one of my favorite parts of the year.” Chloe grinned.

Every year the Bellas took a three days trip to a campground, taking over a section where they could put their tents up, cook over fires and transform as often as they wanted. There were hot dogs cooked over fire and howling at the moon and Bella bonding time all around. It was one of the most fun Bella traditions as far as Chloe was concerned.

“We have to figure out the supply list for that.” Aubrey enjoyed the trip her first two years but she wasn’t one of the leaders so she hadn’t had to plan very much. “I should talk to Alex about it when I see her.”

“Are we sharing a tent?” Stacie smirked. 

“I would hope so.” Aubrey snorted. “Unless you want me cuddling up with Chloe for warmth.”

Beca shifted a little closer to Chloe, sticking her tongue out at Aubrey. “My mate.” She pouted a little.

“It’s alright, Bec. I’ll wrap up Aubrey and make sure she’s plenty warm.” Stacie teased, a hand rubbing over her mate’s thigh.

The food came before Beca could offer a snappy comeback so Beca just stuck her tongue out at Stacie instead. 

“Mature.” Stacie said before sticking her tongue out in retaliation. 

After the werewolves had eaten their fill of the pasta, garlic bread and meatballs - two bowls for all of them and Beca nearly finished a third - they headed back to Bella House. It was almost seven by the time Aubrey unlocked the door to let them all inside. 

“Hey everyone.” Stacie smiled at the group assembled in the living room. Emily and Benji wrapped around each other as Emily read over one of his papers for him. Flo, Cynthia-Rose, Lily, Jessica and Ashley all reading or typing away on their laptops as they worked on a group project for their shared English class.

“Hey.” Everyone called back, most not looking up as they worked away. 

While Beca and Chloe went up to their room, Stacie tugged Aubrey to their joint bedroom. She shut the door firmly behind them before dropping her bag and carefully setting Aubrey’s down next to it. 

“Hey there.” Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey’s waist, tugging her close. 

“Hello.” Aubrey took a moment to take in and let out a breath, gathering Stacie’s scent as she did. She settled against the mate’s taller frame, relaxing in her arms as her own wrapped around Stacie’s middle. 

“How was the meeting with your advisor?” Stacie asked, swaying them to music neither could hear. 

“With my grades I’m all but guaranteed magna cum laude. He thinks I should be able to bank on Barden’s law school too.” Aubrey pressed her ear over Stacie’s heart, letting the steady beating release the tension she usually gathered during the day in her shoulders.

“That’s my girl.” Stacie kissed the side of Aubrey’s head. 

“Will you think less of me if I admit half of my desire to stay at Barden for law school instead of going elsewhere is because you and I will continue to live together?” Aubrey asked, eyes closed as she swayed with Stacie.

“No.” Stacie promised her. “Barden has a really good law program so you aren’t giving up getting a good education. And I’m selfish. Long distance would be difficult with you used to feeding on me and me used to sleeping next to you. And sex. God, do I not want to give us sex.”

Aubrey laughed softly at the candor in Stacie’s reply. “I don’t either.” She admitted.

Stacie carefully walked them back towards the bed, aware of how much Aubrey needed to feed on her. She hadn’t the day before because of how late Stacie had been out studying, something Stacie felt a bit guilty over. 

“I’m going to go grab a quick shower.” Stacie said as she guided Aubrey to sit down on the bed. “Then I’m going to crawl in bed with you and let you feed on me. Maybe after that we might make out a little. We’ll see.” She winked before grabbing a tank top and shorts to put on after the shower. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Aubrey ran a hand through her hair, feeling worn out by the work she was putting into her studies and the lack of a meal for nearly two days. 

While Stacie headed to the bathroom, Aubrey grabbed sleep pants and a shirt to change into. She peeled off her clothes, tossing them in the hamper that would need to be unloaded and washed soon, before changing and sliding into bed to wait for her mate to join her. She checked over her schedule for the rest of the week while she waited for Stacie to come out of the bathroom.

It didn’t take long for Stacie to walk back out in her oh so short shorts and a tank top that was damp from her skin and didn’t really cover much at all being made semi transparent. 

“You look good enough to eat.” Aubrey shifted over in bed to take the inside position after plugging her phone in.

“You are so punny.” Stacie laid on her side once the lights were off and her phone was charging. It wasn’t all that late but the two of them being in bed didn’t mean they would be going to sleep any time soon.

Aubrey reached a hand out to trail up and down Stacie’s arm as they laid facing each other in their bed. Sometimes it hit Aubrey just how it thrilled her to have Stacie in her space, sharing her bed, warming her up. It had been as natural as breathing was to the werewolf that she fell so deeply for. 

“Come here love, you must be starving.” Stacie moved to her back, holding her hand out to Aubrey, she wanted her mate to feed from her before she pushed herself too far. 

Aubrey shifted to lay on top of Stacie, feeling her warmth penetrate deep inside of her quickly. Between Stacie’s body heat and the blankets against her back she was warm for the first time that day. She let Stacie gather her hair to put over her right shoulder while her fangs prepared to bite the left side of her neck.

Stacie’s hands settled on Aubrey’s hips as she helped Aubrey steady herself on top of her. “Take your fill.” 

Aubrey pressed a half dozen soft kisses against her mate’s neck. Her fangs scraped against the skin before she bit down, the warmth of Stacie’s blood coating her tongue as she gulped down mouthful after mouthful until she had taken her fill. For a few heartbeats she just laid there with her fangs still in Stacie’s neck, feeling the bond that had grown so beautifully between them. Finally she leaned back, licking the bite closed. She pressed her face back, breathing in to smell her mate’s scent and the blood left on her skin. 

“You were hungry.” Stacie shifted under her mate as her body adjusted to having so much blood taken. It wasn’t too much taken. Her body had adjusted to the nightly feedings with some help from Aubrey’s own powers and her advanced healing. 

“Did I take too much?” Aubrey whispered, not moving off of Stacie. 

“No.” Stacie moved a hand under the back of Aubrey’s shirt to rub over the smooth muscles of her back. 

Aubrey slowly cleaned Stacie’s neck up, allowing herself to enjoy the process. They had been working so hard over the last few weeks to be ready for midterms that neither had the time or the energy to enjoy the feedings that Aubrey did nightly. 

“I know practices have been difficult with everyone in full midterm prep mode and you worried about graduation but you are handling it all so well, Bree.” Stacie kissed her mate when she finally turned her head away from her neck. 

Aubrey accepted another kiss before settling her face back against Stacie’s neck. “You make that possible. Feeding from you even if it has been so rushed, has soothed me more than I can explain. The bond between us as a constant reminder to me I am not alone in all of this. It’s all aided in a much more calm me than I’d usually be right now.” 

Stacie closed her eyes as she allowed her body to recover from the loss of blood. “I am so in love with you.” She traced her fingers up and down Aubrey’s spine. “And the bond between us being always there, always felt, always active, has really helped me not feel so disconnected when I’m not in contact with you. Touch is so important to me Bree, and the bond is like you’re touching me all the time.”

Aubrey pressed a kiss to the bite mark on Stacie’s neck. “Long distance would hurt you, wouldn’t it?”

Stacie trembled at the thought of it. “If you were far enough away I couldn’t feel you through the bond for an extended period of time?” She whispered, her head turning to rest it against Aubrey’s. “It would be like a limb was missing. I would be searching for it, reaching for things with a limb that wasn’t there. It would be painful, tremendously painful.”

“Why not tell me that?” Aubrey questioned. “I applied to law schools outside of Georgia, you knew I was.”

“Because there is no pain I could feel greater than the pain of you resenting me for keeping you somewhere you didn’t want to be. It would have hurt like hell if you left but you being here but wishing you were gone would have been so much worse.” Stacie gave a weak smile when Aubrey shifted to look down at her.

“You’re an idiot.” Aubrey shook her head. “I didn’t want to leave you before and now I won’t.” She pressed a firm kiss to her lips. “You are stuck with me.”

Stacie chuckled as she rolled them over, kissing Aubrey again. “You say that as if it’s a punishment, not the reward it is.”

Aubrey dropped her fangs as a request for her mate to kiss her with them down, to drag her tongue against them and send waves of pleasure to wash over her. It had become something the pair did often, Stacie enjoying how worked up she could get her mate with a few swipes of her tongue. 

“Oh yeah?” Stacie smiled down at her mate. “You want me to give you a fang job, is that it?” She knew the term would make Aubrey roll her eyes and when it did she just laughed. 

Stacie bent her head to kiss Aubrey before she could give voice to her objections. Her tongue slid up one fang, across her front teeth and then down the other. She felt Aubrey arching under her at the near overwhelming pleasure she felt from Stacie’s talented tongue. 

Stacie breathed in deeply when she felt one of Aubrey’s charms, one that she had only used twice before, surrounded her. 

“Love when you use your powers to make me feel like you're touching me. Fucking magic.” Stacie growled as she felt like Aubrey’s hands were everywhere she could want them. She shifted against Aubrey’s very real thigh as she kissed her again, tongue working.

Aubrey wasn’t sure if the charm counted as cheating but the way that Stacie reacted to her sparing use of it made her feel as though her mate didn’t mind even if it was. Between her charm and Stacie’s tongue neither lasted very long as their hips rocked against each other’s thighs. 

“Fuck.” Stacie broke the kiss to arch against her, feeling her body clenching around nothing. 

“Indeed.” Aubrey whispered as she kissed over her throat, having been brought to her own orgasm the moment before. 

Stacie took a few moments to catch her breath before giving Aubrey a soft kiss. “I don’t want you to do that too much because your hands on me still feel better than the charm. But nights like this when we both need to find release and just want to hold each other? Yeah, use it all you want.”

Aubrey nudged Stacie on her side so she could settle against her chest. “I thought you’d like it tonight.”

“I did.” Stacie assured her. “And the next time you do it, I’ll like it then too.” She ran a hand through Aubrey’s hair. 

“Rest now.” Aubrey closed her own eyes, feeling a tug towards sleep that meant she had overspent herself before her body had processed the blood she had taken from Stacie. 

“You too, Bree.” Stacie whispered, falling to sleep a moment later.

—————

The place where Stacie grew up was near Sweet Home, Oregon. The town had once seen a lot of money flow in because of the logging and millwork. Now? Now most people in the area traveled to find a job and the logging companies barely paid any mind to the town. 

Nearly two hours south of Portland - they flew in and grabbed a rental car - the drive wasn’t difficult but as she steered the car closer and close to the place she grew up, Stacie felt herself tense up. 

“Is this how you felt on the drive up to Virginia?” Stacie asked about thirty minutes out. 

“How do you feel?” Aubrey asked, wanting to know which emotions she should focus on of the mixed ones coming through the bond.

“Like I really want to see my parents but I wish they came to Georgia instead of us coming up here.” Stacie admitted. 

“No.” Aubrey shook her head. “I felt like I would have sold my soul to avoid all of it.”

Stacie reached over to tangle her fingers with Aubrey’s. She needed the connection to try to keep her feelings in check. She loved her parents and the pack that she once belonged to. But she didn’t want to be back in a town that nearly crushed her and had spent years crushing her family. It made her feel all of sixteen again. When the idea came to her to bring Aubrey home she hadn’t expected to dislike coming back here this much. 

“I want you to meet them.” Stacie assured Aubrey. “Things are just a little complicated.”

That was an understatement. Stacie’s parents had to move after Sam broke things off with her mate and he kicked them out of the home they were living in. Alex used some of the family money to get them in a different house but it had been a process to move them as quickly as they needed to be. 

“Alex said where they are now has been paid off. So they won’t have to worry about moving again.” Aubrey looked out the window to her right. “I hope they understand she did it for them, not out of guilt. I know Alex as well as anyone, she doesn’t feel guilty about being with Sam.”

“She shouldn’t. Maybe for leaving in the first place but not coming back.” Stacie held tighter to Aubrey’s hand. 

“Would you have left?” Aubrey knew it wasn’t a fair question. “In Alex’s position?”

Stacie didn’t answer for nearly a mile before holding Aubrey’s hand a little tighter. “No. I would have fought for you because I don’t know how not to fight for you.”

The answer made Aubrey feel better about the reply she would give to the same question. “Good to know neither of us is a selfless idiot.” She gave a weak smile. 

“We’re both idiots sometimes but neither of us is totally selfless.” Stacie agreed. 

The house that Stacie pulled up to was very nice. The top floor had three large bedrooms with the master bedroom having a bathroom attached to it. There was another bedroom in the hallway for the guests. The first floor had a fairly large kitchen with a smaller dining room and living room that took up half of the first floor. There was a decent yard around the house that was mowed but looked like it could use it again.

“This is nicer than any house we were in when I was growing up. The place we had before they moved to the one owned by Sam’s ex wasn’t bad but this one is definitely nicer.” Stacie was just glad that they had a place that they could stay and this one seemed like they could stay for the rest of their years if they really wanted.

Aubrey grabbed both of their bags out of the back of the car when Stacie parked it before coming around the side to join her mate.

“Come on.” Stacie took her bag from Aubrey so she could hold her hand. 

Aubrey thought she had gotten over her nerves about meeting Stacie‘s family until they were walking to the front door. She was bound to this woman for the rest of both of their lives and yet she had never once spoken to the people who brought her into this world and who raised her. She felt a sudden wave of panic that she had to push down with all of her might as Stacie lifted her hand and knocked, not having a key because of the recent move.

When the door opened it was clear immediately that Stacie looked like her mother. Both had long dark hair and the same frame though June was shorter, when the two women smiled at each other the same smile mirrored back. She made it to be introduced to the woman she wondered to herself if this was how Stacie would have looked in 20 years if not for her connection with Aubrey. She dismissed the idea though because there were some stark differences between June Conrad‘s life and the life that Stacie would lead as her mate. 

June Conrad worked all of her life at jobs that drained her. She had two children and a husband to help support and in this area the work that her husband could find broke his body as often as it left them broke. Aubrey could see the telltale signs of a woman who had spent her entire adult life trying to earn enough money to support a family that she had wanted because that’s what women wanted when they were raised in her generation and this area. Though Aubrey saw the genuine affection between mother and daughter as Stacie stepped back and smiled at her.

“Aubrey this is my mom June.” Stacie smiled. “Mom, this is my mate Aubrey Posen.”

Stacie‘s voice changed as she introduced her mother and Aubrey. She was introducing her past to her future and there was a bit of pride in who she was bringing home to dinner. Someone she loved unconditionally and who loved her back the same. As much as she was embarrassed about parts of her childhood she wasn’t embarrassed about the people she loved and she wasn’t embarrassed to show those broken bits to Aubrey. 

“It’s so nice to meet you.” June smiled and opened her arms to Aubrey. “Stacia told us so much about you.”

“All good I hope.” Aubrey accepted the hug without complaint. 

June smiled as she pulled back from the hug. “She told us that you’re the best person she knows.”

“Well, she is.” Stacie leaned over to kiss Aubrey’s cheek. “Can we go get set up wherever you’re putting us, Mom?” 

“Up the stairs, first door past the bathroom on the right.” June gestured to the stairs. 

The werewolf and her mate made their way upstairs and found the bedroom that they would be staying in. There were a few boxes in the corner that needed to be put away or Stacie needed to take back to Georgia but overall the room was at least tidy. There was a queen size bed in the middle of the room with a blue carpet on the floor. There was a nightstand on either side of the bed and a dresser against one of the walls. The far wall had large windows that looked out at the forest behind the house.

“We’re only gonna be here for a couple of days. Do you want to actually put things away or just live out of our suitcases?” Stacie asked. 

Aubrey hated the feeling of living out of a suitcase but she couldn’t shake that it all felt a bit transient to begin with. Even if it was just for a couple of days it felt like it might not last that long. Maybe it was the fact that her sister and Stacie’s had just upended the Conrad’s entire world or she was just nervous but she felt like she shouldn’t put her clothes away in their dresser.

“Leaving everything in the suitcases is fine. Just give me what needs to go in the bathroom.” Aubrey pulled out her own kit for the bathroom to walk next door. 

When Aubrey got back she saw Stacie standing before the windows and looking out at the forest. As she walked over she got the sense that Stacie still knew the area well even if she hadn’t been roaming it continuously in a couple of years. Aubrey wrapped her arms around Stacy from behind and pressed her cheek in between her shoulder blades. She could feel her strong heartbeat as well as from the front and it served to calm her in the moment. There was nothing she couldn’t do if she had that steady heart beating under her cheek.

“Seventeen years I ran around those woods.” Stacie whispered. “I feel like a jerk because I never wanna go into them again. Even if we’re here on a full moon I rather just take the tea and come back to this room and lay on the bed next to you and sleep the full moon away. I don’t want to be the person who goes into those words and hunts or plays or lives in them. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to be the person who you explain how vampire parties work or who takes you to a science convention because they’re speaking. It’s terrible because these are the people that raised me and this is the pack that taught me but I don’t want to be a part of any of this anymore. And until I was here it didn’t hit me how much I had changed and this place never will.”

Stacie felt tremendous guilt at the idea that she wanted to separate herself from where she came from. But she felt like if she kept too many connections to this place and the people here that it was going to suck her back in and then suck her dry. She didn’t want the life that she would have if she stayed here for very long.

“You want to build a life elsewhere. There is no shame in wanting more than you came from.” Aubrey wrapped her arms a little tighter around Stacie‘s waist. “I want more than to be my mother‘s daughter. It’s not exactly the same but we both want different than we were born to. And together we’re going to achieve that. I’m sure of it.”

Stacie took a deep breath and leaned back against her mate. After a moment of the comfort she pushed away enough to turn around. It wouldn’t serve her well on this trip to dwell on her past. She needed to introduce her parents to her future.

“You must be hungry. Feed and then we can go downstairs.” Stacie bared her neck. 

Aubrey wrapped her arms around Stacy again and bit down. She had to stand on her tiptoes because of the height difference but she managed to get her fangs exactly where she needed them and took three large gulps before licking Stacie’s neck to close the bite. She was hungrier than she took blood for but right now she didn’t want to weaken her partner too much.

“Come on.” Aubrey held her hand out.

—————

The breeze that blew in from the open window was just enough to wake Beca up. She reached across the clean cotton sheets for her mate but was met with an empty space where Chloe should have been. She grunted as she sat up, running a hand through her hair. 

She looked down at herself and couldn’t stop the grin that came to her lips. She had a button up flannel on but it was opened, a few marks from Chloe littered across her skin. She really was digging the feeling of being on this little honeymoon with Chloe.

“Babe?” Beca called, doing up a few buttons of her shirt and not bothering to put anything else on as she went in search of her mate. 

“In the kitchen.” Chloe called. She had on one of her t-shirts that just managed to cover everything. Barely. 

Standing on the tips of her toes she managed to pull the waffle iron down from the shelf without giving herself a concussion. 

“Breakfast?” Beca asked, wrapping her arms around Chloe front behind. 

“I thought waffles would be nice. With some bacon.” Chloe turned enough to kiss her before setting the waffle iron on the counter. 

“Coffee made?” Beca sniffed the air. 

“Yup.” Chloe gestured to it. “Fresh too. I just got up about ten minutes ago.” 

How domestic it was wasn’t lost on Beca as she poured Chloe a fresh mug and prepared her own. “Here.” She kissed Chloe’s cheek before hopping up to sit on the counter while she watched Chloe make breakfast. 

“I thought after breakfast we could go out on the beach for a while.” Chloe poured some of the batter on to the iron once it was hot. “I could use some sun and I brought a huge umbrella for you.” She winked.

“I burn, I don’t tan.” Beca made a face. “I was thinking of transforming and taking a nap in the sun honestly.” She admitted. 

It wasn’t totally uncommon for werewolves - on vacation or not - to nap in their transformed forms. Beca was looking forward to it. Plus if she wanted to go swimming she was always a stronger swimmer transformed. 

“I can use you as a pillow while I read my book then.” Chloe winked. 

If anyone else had said that to her Beca was sure she would have growled at them but with Chloe the idea sounded pretty nice. 

“Maybe we can go for a run too.” Beca reached over to trace the mark on Chloe’s shoulder. “You know, on the sand.”

“Sure.” Chloe turned her head to kiss Beca’s shoulder as she shut the iron’s lid. 

Beca grinned as she sipped her coffee, glad the pair of them had the time to relax before the push for finals and the Bellas final. She knew the next few months were going to be madness. 

After breakfast Chloe changed into a dark green bikini that made her hair look even more the rich red color it was. She tied her hair back before packing a small bag with everything they needed. Because they were staying at a less common area of the state Chloe was hoping the beach wasn’t too packed when they got out on the sand. 

“Ready for me to transform?” Beca asked, undoing her shirt to shrug it off. 

“Yup. I packed everything.” Chloe grabbed a flannel to put on until they found their spot. 

Beca closed her eyes after stepping into a clear spot in the room. Her body twisted and turned, transforming her from human to beast. She let out a low whimper of pain that always came with transformation before she gave a snort and moved closer to her mate. She licked at Chloe’s hand before nudging it with her muzzle. 

“I always forget how beautiful you are until I see you transformed again.” Chloe bent down to press a soft kiss against the side of Beca’s muzzle. “Come on Becs. Let’s get out into the sun and enjoy a little bit of paradise.”

Beca trotted next to Chloe, coming half way up her side in this form, as they walked the short path to the beach. There weren’t many people out yet and they managed to find a spot not too far from the water line but back far enough they wouldn’t get wet. 

Chloe spread two large blankets down before setting her bag on one edge. Beca flopped down so Chloe could lay against her, facing the water while she read. 

“I need to put some sunscreen on before I get comfortable.” Chloe giggled a little. “I should have had you do my back before we left.” 

Beca watched, her eyes a golden color, as Chloe put sun protection on every bit of skin she could. The sun was warm on her but her thick fur protected her from turning bright red. 

“Hey there.” Chloe laid down, using Beca’s side as a pillow. The pair had matching smiles as Chloe picked up her book and started to read. 

—————

The kitchen of the home that the Conrad’s now lived in was squarely June’s domain. She had been able to fit all of her things in this new kitchen but she was getting used to it.

“Coffee, Stacia?” June asked when the pair came downstairs. 

“Please.” Stacie smiled. “Do you have any tea?”

“I think so, but when did you start drinking tea?” June asked.

“I don’t. Aubrey does though so I was going to make her some while we had coffee and chatted.” Stacie explained, putting a mug in the microwave with a chopstick to heat the water up. 

“I didn’t know vampires ate or drank anything.” June admitted.

“Mostly the tea for me but we can, we just don’t need to.” Aubrey explained, hanging back in the space a little bit, trying to get her bearings. 

“Interesting.” June admitted. “There aren’t many vampires in these parts. Just humans and wolves. Portland has a few clans but we don’t get up that way much.”

“Aubrey taught me a lot about vampires.” Stacie smiled over at her mate. 

“You taught me a lot about a lot of things.” Aubrey smiled back at her. 

“Stacia has always been the smartest kid I know.” June said with a hint of pride. “Sam was good in school but Stacia was always at the top of her classes. Her daddy and I worried about how we were going to pay for a fancy college, thankfully she picked Barden over any of the others.”

“Others?” Aubrey asked. 

“I got into a few other places.” Stacie admitted. “Barden just offered me a full ride.”

“Where else did you get into?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow. 

“MIT.” Stacie winced at the look in Aubrey’s eyes. “Yale, Caltech. A few others. None of them offered me the deal Barden did so I ended up there.”

Aubrey didn’t say anything back, she just accepted the tea when Stacie handed it over. She couldn’t complain too hard at her science nerd ending up in Georgia, without her there they may have never have met. 

“How are you doing in your classes?” June asked as the three of them sat down at the kitchen table.

“Really good.” Stacie smiled. “Midterms went well I think. Still waiting on the results back but I should have them by the end of break.” Barden had midterm week right before they let the students out on spring break. “Aubrey was a lifesaver. She helped me get everything organized.”

“You just needed a little guidance.” Aubrey said. 

“And you make a great guide.” Stacie smiled.

“How did yours go, Aubrey?” June asked, trying to figure out how to have this vampire in her home. She wanted to have this vampire here as her daughter’s mate but she had so little expense around vampires. 

“Very well.” Aubrey smiled. “I didn’t have any exams, just papers to work on so it was a little more relaxed in that way. There are some benefits to being a business major.”

“Chem majors get to try not to blow themselves up though.” Stacie winked.

“Please don’t blow yourself up.” Aubrey made a face. 

“Stacia was always trying to do that as a kid. She would see something or hear about something and try it herself.” June laughed softly. “Billy and I were always worried she was going to blow us all up.”

“I was a little bit of a mad scientist as a kid.” Stacie said. 

“Was?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe I still am.” Stacie admitted. 

June watched as Aubrey and Stacie held each other’s hands and shared a look with each other dripping with affection. She had to admit she had never seen Stacie look quite this happy before.

“How are the Bellas doing? You made the finals, didn’t you?” June asked.

Stacie beamed over at Aubrey. She brought her mate’s hand to her lips to press a kiss to her knuckles. 

“We did.” Aubrey answered, trying to keep the slight annoyance at coming in second at semi’s. “The final is in just about six weeks. We have the music picked, I’m finishing up the breakdown assignment this week.”

“Chloe and I have been working on a few ideas for the choreography.” Stacie beamed at her. “We have some great ideas that I think will really pop with the music.”

“I can’t wait to see what you have in mind.” Aubrey knew until all of them were in a room together and running through everything it would be hard for her to know her feelings on the moves. 

“Your father and I are going to try to make it.” June gave a slightly tight smile. 

“Mom. Let me get you guys tickets and a hotel room, alright? I really want the two of you there to see us.” Stacie reached across the table for her mother’s hand. 

“We’ll see Anastasia.” June rarely used her daughter’s full first name. “Are you hungry? You must be. Let me make you something.” She moved away from the table to go make Stacie a turkey sandwich.

Aubrey just gave a weak smile to her mate, seeing the frustration in her eyes. She had a feeling her parents not accepting help willingly had a lot of do with who the help was from ultimately. 

Sam walked in the front door and headed to the kitchen. She saw the rental outside and could smell her sister and Aubrey inside. 

“Hey.” Sam looked a little skittish as she looked at her mother who bluntly ignored her. 

“Hey Sammy.” Stacie stood up to give her sister a tight hug. 

“Hey you two, good flight?” Sam asked, looking back at June who still hadn’t said a word to her before looking back at them.

“It was uneventful.” Aubrey gave her a short hug of her own. 

“Alex is taking care of a few things for your mom today but she wanted me to ask if you two want to come over tonight?” Sam said, wanting to see the pair.

“They just got in Samantha.” June said, sitting down Stacie’s sandwich in front of her. 

“I know, Mom. I just thought it might be nice for the four of us to hang out.” Sam winced.

“Tomorrow they can go and see you.” June relented. “I should go see to the wash. We have so much after moving and getting the house set up.” She didn’t look at the three before heading down to the basement laundry room.

“I see Mom is taking the break up well.” Stacie rolled her eyes.

“She doesn’t understand.” Sam rubbed her hand over her face. “And I tried to keep as much of my job before Chris from her and a lot of the not so great parts of our relationship from her. I get she thinks that I just left him because of Alex. But even if I had, she makes me happy.”

“How is Alex handling all of this?” Aubrey questioned.

“Like a champ.” Sam admitted. “She’s been really supportive. Getting them the house, me an apartment, making sure all the details are handled. I’ve tried to pay for some things but right now she said it’s payback for leaving me.”

“Sounds like Alex.” Aubrey nodded.

“We’ll come over tomorrow, I promise.” Stacie promised her. 

“I should get back home. Alex was on a call and when she gets off it she’s going to need some blood or something to calm herself down.” Sam breathed out slowly. 

“What’s going on?” Aubrey asked with a worried tone.

“Land deal gone back. A clan down south in Texas changed their minds at the last moment and cost your mother two vampires in the process that ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Sam explained what she knew. 

“Oh.” Aubrey’s lip curled. “Yes, Alex will need blood. Yours or theirs.”

Stacie reached out her hand to rest it on Aubrey’s back to settle her mate. She could feel the anger welling up at Aubrey even with only a few facts given. 

Sam pulled her phone out and texted Stacie the address of her apartment. “Text before you come over?” 

“You got it, Sammy.” Stacie hugged her one more time before watching her slip out of the back door.

—————

Beca panted slightly as she trotted back from the edge of the water to drop the ball that Chloe threw out to sea back at her feet. She would rather get fleas than admit to Aubrey that the cardio that she put them all through this year helped her stamina. 

“It’s getting late.” Chloe scratched between Beca’s ears, stroking her damp fur. “Want to go back to the beach house and clean up before dinner?” 

Beca nodded her large head, ready to turn human again and clean up. She was hungry too but when she was in wolf form it was rare she wasn’t a little hungry. 

Chloe packed their teams, slinging the bag over her shoulder before they made their way back to the house they rented. The sun would be up for hours yet but they had spent a good bit of the day on the beach. 

They went to the back of the house where there was an outside shower that would keep them from tracking inside. Beca looked around to make sure the wood gate was fully closed before she transformed to her human form again. 

“Fuck.” Beca grunted as she carefully got back to her feet once she could stand again. “Why does that have to hurt so much?”

Chloe just wrapped her up in her arms, kissing over her brown. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Beca kissed over her jaw. “I had a good time today. And no sunburn.” 

“I might have a tan by the end of this trip.” Chloe turned around to turn on the water, cool enough to soothe her sun warmed skin. 

“I am really glad we did this.” Beca wrapped her up from behind. Her cheek pressed against the space between Chloe’s shoulder blades. “It’s not as much or as long as I want but it’s a few days of you and me and no one else.”

“Me too.” Chloe let the water spray her as Beca pressed against her back, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cool water and Beca’s warm skin. 

The pair cleaned up before making their way inside to get dressed to walk somewhere for dinner. Chloe felt a surge of affection coming through the bond only to look over and catch Beca watching her with a love struck smile on her lips. 

“Hey there.” Chloe smiled back at her. 

“Have I told you I loved you in the last twenty minutes?” Beca asked. 

“Nope.” Chloe popped the p. 

“I love you.” Beca tugged a half dressed Chloe to her. 

“I love you too.” Chloe pressed close to her. 

—————

Benji laid next to Emily in her bed. Most of the Bellas hung around campus, and when Emily decided to stay so did Benji. The pair shared a pillow, foreheads nearly touching as they had a blanket up to their shoulders and nothing on under it.

“Do you think Aubrey’s going to kill me when she finds out you let me crash in your room all break?” Benji asked.

“Stacie wouldn’t let her.” Emily whispered, a hand lifting up to trace over the beard he was trying to grow. 

“You like the peach fuzz I’m working on growing?” Benji asked, a hand moving to rest on her hip. 

“I think you’ll look good with a beard.” Emily ran her thumb over his cheek, the hair tickling her skin. 

“Thought it might hide my baby face a little.” Benji said.

“I like your baby face.” Emily ran the side of her foot over his calf. 

Benji had been the first person she brought into her bed. Partly he got to be the first because he hadn’t tried to get there. And on the occasions he made it back she enjoyed the feeling of laying with him after and talking about whatever came to mind as much as the act beforehand. There was something about this human that made the wolf inside of her calm. She was soothed by him, a feeling of finding a bond that went past a shared love of music and natural chemistry. 

“I could spend the night again if you wanted me to.” Benji whispered. “If the others would be ok with it.” 

“They haven’t minded all week.” Emily trailed her fingertips over his chest, feeling the smattering of hair under her fingers. She rested her hand against his ribs, letting her palm rise and fall as he breathed. 

Benji smiled, shifting just a little bit. He'd never shift far though, not when Emily was that close and naked. 

“I keep thinking about giving you the mark, have you thought about it more since Christmas?” Emily asked, the smile on her lips hopeful.

“I have.” Benji’s eyes turned serious. 

“Would you want to do that now?” Emily asked. Her fingers shifting from his ribs around his arm to rest against his left shoulder. 

Benji tilted his head so he could kiss her. What he knew of the mark made a warm spot bloom in his chest at the idea someone like Emily Junk would want to give it to him. He pulled back, feeling a grin on his lips.

“I would wear that with such pride, Emily.” Benji brought the hand not on his shoulder to his lips, kissing each of her fingers. “Because you’re like twenty types of amazing. And knowing you pick me? That we pick each other? It’s kind of a rush.”

“Roll on your belly?” 

Benji shifted on to his belly. He felt a bit of nervous energy as Emily shifted to sit next to him with her legs tucked under herself. He knew this was a huge deal but for him it was a sign the two of them were serious. And oh boy was he serious about Emily. 

“It’s going to hurt a little. I think.” Emily whispered as she transformed her hand to make the marks. “I’m sorry, ok?” She bent down to kiss his shoulder where the marks would be carved into his skin. 

“I’m tough.” Benji promised.

Emily carved the mark, not sure what to say so she didn’t say anything. She loved him and he loved her. That was enough, wasn’t it?

She bent down when the golden glow sealed the mark and kissed over it softly. She could tell Benji was in pain but he was trying to hide how much it hurt. He didn’t have the benefit of being a werewolf or a vampire after all. 

“I’m yours.” Benji rolled on his side again, his fingers tangled with hers. 

“You’re mine.” Emily grinned as she laid back down, leaning in to press a firm kiss against his lips. She giggled when Benji rolled over her, her fingers training the mark she just put on his shoulder.

—————

It was just after ten o’clock the next morning that Aubrey and Stacie made their way over to Alex and Sam‘s apartment. Dinner the night before had been an interesting experience with Stacy‘s parents pretending that Sam didn’t exist and that they hadn’t just moved into a new house because her ex mate had kicked them out of where they had been living. The Conrad’s acted as though Alex and Aubrey had nothing to do with each other. Because for them they had nothing to do with each other. Just because they were sisters didn’t mean that they had to acknowledge that the daughters had both fallen head over heels for Posen’s. One was a welcome guest and the other an unwanted home wrecker. 

“Hi baby sister, Pup.” Alex smiled as she opened the door. 

“It’s good to see you again. It’s better to see you again after you unbroke my sister's heart.” Stacie hugged Alex after Aubrey did. 

“Yeah well as soon as I saw her again I was reminded of the inescapable fact that I am in love.” Alex snorted. 

“Falling in love with a Conrad does leave you feeling out of sorts. I can attest to that.” Aubrey said, taking her leather jacket off.

“Thankfully things worked out a little smoother for you than I did for the two of us. Because if I had to watch you to do the dance that Alex and I did I might have to slap both of you. And I do try not to slap vampires unless they ask for it.” Sam appeared from the kitchen. 

“Hey Sammy.” Stacie hugged her. 

“Thank you two for coming. It’s nice to be able to see both of you now that things have settled a bit. Not that I’m sure anything has been settled yet.” Sam brought them in the living room and sat on the couch with Alex next to her and Stacie and Aubrey across from them on a loveseat.

“I hear that you’re in the middle of planning the famous Bella's camping trip. Remind me before you guys leave and I’ll give you all of the information that I still have about it. I gave it to Alice but I don’t think she ever actually did anything with it except for throw it in the trash.” Alex had some of her favorite memories during that camping trip. It was always a fun way for the group to bond and being outside was natural for both vampires and werewolves, and the humans that have been in the group always had a good time too.

“I’m really excited. Aubrey and Chloe especially keep talking about how much fun it does.” Stacie smiled. 

“Thursday afternoon after we get back from our flight we’re going to need to have a massive shopping trip. Feeding a bunch of werewolves and a human for three days is not an easy task.” Aubrey was determined to make the trip a success.

“Me and Chloe can go. You don’t need anything except for me so there isn't a whole lot for you to do at a grocery store. And Chloe and I will actually stick to somewhat of a list versus dumping anything that looks got into the cart. Alright, there will be a little bit of that too.” Stacie smirked. 

“Remember the point is to have fun.“ Alex teased. 

“Have you figured out what you’re doing now that mom and dad are settled into a different house?” Stacie asked Sam after Aubrey rolled her eyes at her sister. 

“I’m trying to talk Sam into going back to school. Negotiations are very much on going.“ Alex held her hand. 

“You were always smart Sam. You just didn't have a way out of this place as directly as I did and Mom and Dad needed you more than they needed me to make money to help them out.” Stacie looked over at her sister. 

“Alex is trying to convince me to go to Barden because she went there and had such a wonderful time. But I’m not sure I can be an underclassman to my little sister.” Sam made a face. 

“There’s a lot of schools in Georgia. And it would be nice for you to be close for the next few years while we’re down there. We have at least three before we would move because Aubrey is about to start law school next year.” Stacie really liked the idea of her older sister being close to her. They had always been close to each other but the older they got the less time they actually got to spend with each other.

“I’m thinking about it.“ Was all Sam would commit to. 

“It would be nice to have both of you close.” Aubrey said looking directly at her sister. They didn’t get to spend very much time together after Alex graduated. 

Alex just gave her sister a soft smile. “I want to spend more time with you before your real life starts and you don’t have time for me anymore.”

“I will always have time for you Alex.” Aubrey said softly. 

“There is something else that I need to talk to you about.” Sam looked at the pair again. “Because of everything that happened I think it’s probably best that I leave the pack. Which means I’m gonna need a new one to join and I happen to have a little sister who has a pack of her own. I’m hoping that you will consider letting me join yours.”

Stacie you should’ve seen this coming. She knew that with the break up between Sam and her ex mate it was likely going to make her life more difficult in the pack because he was the son of one of the pack leaders. He couldn’t really kick her out but he could be a pain in the ass. And with her and Alex together a pain in the ass to Sam was a pain in the ass to Alex.

“I don’t know Sammy. You would have to follow the rules and do what I tell you too. What if I tell you to go to school in Georgia?” Stacie smiled. If Sam needed a pack she was of course going to open up hers. Taking in someone who needed it was why the pack started anyway. 

“Mom and Dad should be fine staying in the pack. My ex is a pain in the ass but his father is not stupid. Mom and Dad have a lot of friends and a lot of people who’ve helped him out over the years who Dad and Mom paid back in one way or another. But I am open season and if I’m not gonna stay in the area anyway it doesn’t make sense to stay in this pack.” Sam said seriously. 

“Of course you can join Sam. You’re my sister and you’re always going to have a place in my pack. I’ll talk to Beca when we get back to Georgia and will make it official.” Stacie stood, hugging Sam when she did. 

“How bad was it Sam?” Stacie needed to know how much her sister put herself through to protect her and the rest of their family.

“It wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t somebody who beat me or locked me in a basement or yelled at me all the time. He just wasn’t very good at being around someone who had more emotions than horny or hungry.” Sam shrugged. “He wanted someone to keep his home and have some pups in the future and do for him what his mother did for his father. And as much as I tried to be that because of the comfort that it brought I just wasn’t that person.” 

“You’re worth so much more than that. You are everything that somebody could want in a partner as long as they treat you the way that you should be treated.” Alex blamed herself for the situation. 

“You and I have a very long time together, it will be much more fun if you stop blaming yourself for walking away when you came back.” Sam kissed Alex. 

Stacy turned Aubrey with a small smile on her face. “Are we that cute when I tell you that you’re being an idiot because you’re being an idiot because you’re at all noble and stuff?”

“I think we’re cuter personally.” Aubrey leaned over for a kiss. 

—————

Stacie decided to talk to her mom about inviting Sam and Alex for dinner the next night. Aubrey and she had to fly out early the morning after and she wanted one dinner of all six of them.

Unfortunately it didn’t go nearly as well as she had hoped. Not that her hopes were particularly high in the first place. Her father refused to look at her sister and her mother refused to look at Alex at all.

She and Aubrey were put in the unfortunate position of playing referee between the two parents and their two sisters. Trying to find a conversation that the six of them could slip into without cold stares and heated words breaking out.

When Alex excused herself after dinner to take a call out front, Sam slipped out the back without another word. Stacie followed her out a couple minutes later to try to calm her sister down. She could tell Sam was getting nearly to the end of her rope.

“I have spent my life since I was 15 making surethose two were alright and they have no idea.” Sam kept rock into the world and she heard Stacie approaching. Able to tell it was her by her scent on the breeze.

“It’s gonna take them a little while to come around. They always have for the two of us though.“ Stacie sighed. 

“I graduated high school and I didn’t go to college because they couldn’t afford for me to take off. And I wasn’t as smart as you and I didn’t get a full ride somewhere so I had to stay. And not only did I have to stay but I had to strip because that was the highest paying job I could figure out how to get at eighteen. The only thing I didn’t do to make more money was to the fuck the guys that came in. And honestly I thought about it more than I should have.” Sam vented. 

“You’re the one who got the collection cost to stop weren’t you? You called the collection company and worked something out and Mom and Dad just thought they paid everything off themselves?“ Stacie questioned. 

“Mom and Dad were behind. Really really behind. And the collection companies weren’t going to stop and one day I asked them how much it would be to pay it all off. Just pay it all and never get a call again. So I got enough money to pay off one thing and then to pay off another thing and then another until they’re all done. And for five years I took my clothes off and I closed my eyes and I danced to music that kept me awake at night. I made sure they didn’t hire you to do anything but serve cheap beer to cheap men. It was my responsibility to take care of them because they couldn’t take care of themselves. Dad is a hard worker but I swear to God his boss comes up with the dumbest reasons not to pay the workers on time. I think he’s two or three behind right now because his boss said he’s going through a rough patch with getting jobs. And Mom loves the bakery but they pay half of minimum-wage so they can pay under the table.” Sam turned to look at Stacie. 

“Thank you. For making sure things got taken care of. For making sure that I didn’t have to do any of that stuff. You shouldn’t have had to do it. You shouldn’t have had to do it Sammy. But thank you for doing it anyway. For all of it. You’re a good sister.” Stacie stepped forward to hug her firmly. 

The pair of them didn’t notice that June had made her way out into the backyard, the wind shifting so her scent wasn’t drifting directly towards them.

“You’re the reason the collection calls stopped?” June asked. "All this time I thought it was Billy who had worked something out with the company. I thought maybe if not that they had just written it off because it took us so long to pay it. I didn’t know it was you Samantha. I didn’t know that you took care of all that for us.” June had a guilty look on her face as she looked at her two daughters. 

“I did what I had to do to make sure we survived. The three of you were all I had and now my circles a little wider but you’re still my family. I’m sorry I disappointed you by breaking up with him but Alex is the person I wanna be with for the rest of my life no matter how many years I have in that life.” Sam pulled away from her sister to look at her mother. She wanted nothing more than for her mother to accept who she was with and that she had done everything she could to try to make her proud. 

June looked at her two daughters for a moment and felt tears prickle her eyes. She had given birth to two extraordinary women who were smarter than anyone she had ever known. Sam had done everything she possibly could to make sure that the family had survived her and her husband being more neglectful with finances than she thought they had been.

“Come on girls. I made both of your favorite pies. Have a piece before it gets too late.” June felt the tears that had been prickling in her eyes fall when her girls both wrapped an arm around her to walk back to the house.

—————

One of the benefits of being a vampire was the ability to be up when the rest of the house was quiet. All four of the other people spending the night at Bella House were resting peacefully as Jessica and Ashley laid on the couch together in the living room.

The pair had gone downstairs to feed a little while ago and now were lying happily on the couch wrapped up in each other and a blanket. The blanket was more out of habit than necessity but it still felt good against their exposed skin that their sleep shorts and tank tops didn’t didn’t cover. The last four days since Sunday had been relaxing and without much trouble for either of them. Their midterms were done and they had this week to decompress before having to worry about anything important. 

“We need to come down here more in the middle of the night to lay on this couch. It’s comfortable and I get to lay pretty much on top of you.” Jessica leaned her head back enough to give Ashley a smile before resting it against her shoulder again. 

“The only problem with that is usually Stacie and Aubrey are home. And Aubrey doesn’t sleep like we don’t sleep. So there’s always the chance that she’ll walk out here in the middle of the night.” Ashley pointed it out.

“Honey, I think there’s more of a chance that we hear the two of them together than Aubrey walks out here in the middle of the night unless she’s going for a run. And if she does that she started leaving around ten o’clock versus midnight so Stacie doesn’t have to wait up so long for her.” Jessica countered. 

Ashley just hummed at that she ran her fingertips up and down her mate’s side. There was a calm in the moments like this when the world around them slept and they were awake that she fed on nearly as much as blood. She swore there was a different electricity in the air in the middle of the night.

“I know we both have internships starting in the middle of June but I was thinking maybe for a week before we have to be back to start them we could go see my parents.” Ashley suggested. “I want to show you where I grew up since it didn’t work out going home with both of us having a work trip come up. I want to take you to all of the places that make me come on me.”

“I’ve always wanted to see New Jersey, I have a very deep fondness for the state that gave me you.” Jessica grinned. 

“Only you would be excited to go to New Jersey. That’s one of the things I love about you.“ Ashley laughed softly. 

“I like finding out things about you that I didn’t know before. You’re one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met.” Jessica lifted herself up again to look down at her mate. She put her head down to press a soft kiss against her lips.

“I love you.” Ashley couldn’t keep the words back even if she wanted to but she really didn’t.

“That’s really good because I happen to be totally in love with you too. And I think we should go upstairs and go to bed. I don’t plan to go to sleep tonight though.” When Jessica smiled her fangs were showing, gleaming in the moonlight.

“I love when you tell me it’s time to go to bed.“ Ashley smirked. 

—————

The Bellas camping trip was a time honored tradition. The group would leave on Friday morning - bright and early - drive the few hours to the area they camped in and spend the rest of Friday, all of Saturday, and most of Sunday before driving back just after dark.

Aubrey had everyone awake at seven in the morning. Which was a lot brighter and a lot earlier than any of them wanted on any Friday much less of spring break. They were waiting on the rented bus so they didn’t have to worry about taking multiple cars.

“Why do you always plan for us to leave at the butt crack of dawn?” Beca asked as everyone stood in the living room with their bags packed.

“To torture you mostly.” Aubrey said as a nearly sleeping Stacie stood against her back, arms tight around her. 

“Aubrey’s kink is to make people who need sleep suffer.” Stacie grumbled against her neck. 

“We’re going to have so much fun though.” Chloe grinned. She hoped the trip this year was as much fun as her first two years with the Bellas. 

“We have enough food to feed half of campus.” Jessica laughed as she and Ashley, both looking more awake than the others, stood by the stairs. 

“This is going to be a blast.” Emily sat on the couch as Lilly braided her hair for her. “Benji told me to take a lot of photos so I’ll be able to remember it all.”

“I took care of the drinks and you might want to follow that.” Cynthia-Rose chuckled. She had a selection of things they all - at least the non vampires - could enjoy. 

“Bus is here.” Flo called, picking her bag up.

Everyone headed out to the bus, using the storage under the bus to put all of their supplies before each took their usual places. Aubrey and Stacie across from Beca and Chloe, Emily and Flo across from each other, Cynthia-Rose and Lilly across from each other with Jessica and Ashley all the way in the back. 

Because of the early hour most of the occupants of the bus slept as the bus headed them away from campus to the area they would be camping. It was only a few hours away so they - Aubrey could not understand how happy she was - didn’t need to stop. 

“Everyone off the bus.” Chloe called when they reached the campus ground, the bus dropping them off right in front of the large site they would be taking over for the next few days. 

The Bellas all helped unload the tents and other supplies from under the bus as well as their own personal bags. Aubrey oversaw most of the supplies, making sure they had everything before the bus left them. 

“Alright.” Aubrey looked around. “We need to set up the five tents there.” She gestured to a spot near the far side of the camp site. “And the fire pit there with the chairs we brought. The food prep area can go over there.” She gave the others their marching orders. 

“Aye aye, sir.” Beca smirked before heading to set up her and Chloe’s tent. 

“I heard that, Mitchell.” Aubrey called after her with a laugh.

It didn’t take all of them very long to have the whole campsite set up under Aubrey’s watchful eye. She made sure the tents wouldn’t blow over in the middle of the night, that the food was safely out of the sun and they wouldn’t light the place on fire at the fire pit. 

Once everything was set right the Bellas worked on making some lunch so they could head down to a small lake. It was in the mid 70’s but if they transformed the pack would have no issues swimming in the water with their fur, the vampires and Flo throwing things to them from the shoreline. 

Everyone made some form of a sandwich while the vampires sat down to mingle with their friends. 

“I’ve never been camping this way before.” Flo sat down at the end of one of the tables.

“Me either.” Cynthia-Rose shook her head. “But I get why people do it.”

“My dad took me a couple of times when I was little.” Beca shrugged. “This is already more fun than that.”

“You’re just saying that because you get to share a tent with Chloe now.” Jessica teased. She had a large straw hat on to keep her out of the direct sunlight, Ashley sporting a matching one. 

“I mean, yeah. Sleeping next to Chloe is way better than my stuffed bear.” Beca laughed.

“You are such a romantic.” Chloe leaned over to give her mate a kiss.

Stacie slung her arm around Aubrey’s shoulders, after she finished her lunch. She had a pair of turkey sandwiches that somehow weren’t as good as her mom’s even though she made them the same way. 

“Will you hit me a few balls? Let me see how far I can swim out?” Stacie asked, kissing her jaw.

“I bought my racket.” Aubrey agreed. 

“You played tennis?” Ashley asked.

“I did. All four years of high school. It was a good sport to focus on getting better without having to worry about a team around me.” Aubrey nodded. “They have a court here so I was going to hit a few balls.”

“I love tennis.” Emily smiled happily. 

“We’ll have to play sometime.” Aubrey smiled.

“That would be awesome.” Emily grinned at the idea of taking on her captain. 

Once everyone had eaten and the food that was left over had been property taken care of, the werewolves headed to their tents to undress and transform. One by one they left their tents in their wolfish form, all yipping and nudging against each other. 

“I always forget how big they are.” Flo said, looking at the huge wolves in front of her. 

“They are beautiful though.” Jessica held a bag of toys in one hand and Ashley’s hand in the other.

“Come on, it’s this way.” Aubrey held her tennis racket in one hand while she had a mug of tea in the other.

The path down to the water wasn’t more than a half mile but with the wolves in a playful mood it took nearly twenty minutes for them to make it to the shoreline. There were wooden chairs for anyone who wanted to sit and look out over the peaceful water. A dock that jutted out gave the wolves a place to jump into water that was a dozen or so feet down. 

Each wolf either walked into the water - or ran off the dock - as soon as they were close enough, excited to have a chance to play a bit. 

“They look like they are having so much fun like this.” Flo laughed as she watched Chloe and Emily splash Beca as Cynthia-Rose, Stacie and Lilly swam out to disrupt a flock of ducks on the water. 

“Sometimes I wish I could transform.” Jessica wrapped her arm around Ashley’s waist as they watched. 

Aubrey grabbed her racket and a few tennis balls as she headed to the end of the dock. She whistled to get their attention before launching three balls out several hundred meters into the water. All of the wolves took off after them, trying to be one of the three that managed to bring one of the balls back.

A few minutes later Stacie, Cynthia-Rose and Chloe managed to make it to shore with a ball in their mouth, dropping them on the dock next to Aubrey. 

“Shake and you will be running more cardio that you can imagine.” Aubrey narrowed her eyes at Stacie.

Stacie looked like she was laughing to herself as she jumped into the water to prepare for another ball to be hit. 

\----------

That night around the campfire -without Ashley and Jessica sitting too close as the vampires still disliked the fire - the Bellas that wanted roasted marshmallows. 

“Two months and this year is over.” Chloe walked over to where Aubrey was coming out of her tent. She lifted a bottle of beer to her lips. “I can’t believe the last four years are almost over.”

Aubrey reached a hand out, her fingers lacing with Chloe’s as the pair stood together. They had been through so much with each other, highs and lows, drunken nights and bad break ups.

“I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun without you as my best friend.” Aubrey’s voice was wobbly. 

“We’re going to be in the same house still if we do post-grad like we’ve planned. But it feels like the end of an era, doesn’t it?” Chloe and Aubrey moved their arms around each other as they walked to sit with the others. 

“Yeah, it does.” Aubrey paused as she looked at the younger Bellas all laughing in the firelight glow. “But we ended the era with a win. Such a big win.” She leaned over to kiss Chloe’s cheek. 

“Whatever happens next, you’re still my person aren’t you?” Chloe asked. 

“Always.” Aubrey promised. “You’ll be mine too, won’t you?”

“Naturally.” Chloe grinned.

The pair took seats next to their mates. The firelight lit everyone in an orange glow as the ten of them all smiled at the feeling of being together. This was where each was happiest, with their pack.

“Hey Beca?” Chloe said from beside her mate.

“Yeah Chloe?” Beca turned her head.

“I got my ticket for the long way ‘round.” Chloe started to sing.

“Two bottle o' whiskey for the way.” Beca beamed at her as they sang the song she tried out with. 

“And I sure would like some sweet company, and I'm leavin' tomorrow, what do you say?” The rest of the Bellas all started to sing. 


	10. Full Moon Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go. The final chapter is out.
> 
> G, thank you for all that you've done. And to the readers, thank you for staying with me.

May in New York was a beautiful time of year. The parts of the city that had greenery around it were in full bloom while the weather wasn’t yet the peak of summer, it was the best time to enjoy being outside in the city. 

The night before the Bellas performed at Lincoln Center, Beca and Chloe wanted nothing to do with being outside. They wanted to stay in the hotel room on the free night they had - Aubrey allowed the Bellas a night of freedom before planning two full run thoughts the next day before show time. 

Beca was curled up in Chloe’s arms as the pair laid in one of the two queen sized beds. Laying with her head tucked under Chloe’s chin was one of Beca’s favorite things to do when they laid together in bed. 

“Should we order room service?” Chloe asked, her fingernails stroking over the back of Beca’s neck. 

“I could eat.” Beca agreed without making a move to roll over and call for food.

“One of us has to call the order in.” Chloe reminded her. 

Beca lifted a hand up to touch the tip of her nose. “Not it.”

“You’re closer to the phone.” Chloe pointed out.

Beca gave a dramatic sigh before rolling over and grabbing the menu off the bedside table so they could decide before calling down. 

“The burgers sound good.” Beca looked over the menu before handing it to Chloe. “Can’t go wrong with a good burger.”

“You just want French fries.” Chloe chuckled as she handed the menu back. “Get me the bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a chocolate shake.”

“Are we charging this to the Bellas account or do I have to find my wallet?” Beca asked as she sat up to order. 

“Charge it, I’ll pay the account back when we get back to Georgia.” Chloe ran a hand through her red locks. 

‘You got it, baby.” Beca smiled. 

“We have to figure out what we’re doing for money now that I’m about to be out of undergrad, by the way.” Chloe made a face. 

“Already worked on that a bit.” Beca said before dialing the number.

Chloe just waited for her to put the order in before she tugged her mate back down next to her. “What do you mean by that?”

“I got an internship - a paying one - at a record label in Atlanta this summer. Thirty hours a week for fifteen bucks an hour from June until August, then twenty hours a week from August until the following May. It’s not a huge paycheck but we’re living at Bella House so we don’t have to pay rent. If you get something part time we can start putting money away.” Beca said with a proud smile at finding a way to take care of her mate. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were applying anywhere?” Chloe kissed her, pride all over her face at the news. 

“I didn’t want to tell you I was applying to places, not get one and look like I messed up.” Beca explained. She knew Chloe wouldn’t think she was a loser but part of her would have.

“I am so proud of you.” Chloe grinned.

“Thanks. It’s a job that will help when I graduate and I try to find a real job.” Beca reached out to rest a hand on Chloe’s hip. 

“There is a dance place I’ve taught classes on before. They usually look for people to teach in the summer with kids off school. When we get back I’ll talk to them about it to see if they need any help.” Chloe wanted to contribute to their future too. 

“We’re turning into adults, Chlo. I’m scared.” Beca teased.

“There are some benefits to being adults.” Chloe said. 

Beca was about to make a smart ass comeback when there was a knock at the door. She grabbed a robe to put on before going to answer, giving the server a tip from her wallet before grabbing the food and heading to bed with Chloe. 

“Give you some of my fries for some of your onion rings?” Chloe offered. 

“Score.” Beca grinned. 

Alright so many they weren’t totally grown up yet.

Once the food had been finished they both laid back down in each other's arms. Tonight was the last night before the final they’ve been preparing for all year. Chloe had three bites of the apple before and had come up with zero wins. But this year felt different. With Beca working on the music it felt like a completely different team.

“What happens if we don’t win tomorrow?“ Beca asked as she looked into Chloe‘s blue eyes.

“As long as everyone tries his hardest again and then there’s nothing more we can ask for. I think we’re gonna win because it all just works really, really well. But if we don’t win then we don’t win and the worlds going to keep turning.” Chloe wanted nothing more than for them to win but at this point it was out of her control. As long as she felt they all tried their hardest it wouldn’t break her..

“I think we’re gonna win. I really really do.” Beca whispered like saying it too loudly and jinx them.

“There are a lot of things I would rather be doing with you right now than thinking about if we’re going to win or lose tomorrow. There’s nothing that we can do about it right now that’s going to determine if we win or lose. But there’s a lot that we could be doing to take our minds off of it.” Chloe looked at her partner with a hungry look in her eyes. She needed to do something to get her mind off of tomorrow or she was going to obsess until the point her nerves might come in to play.

“I think there’s a lot of things you and I can do that have the ability to completely clear our minds.” Beca grinned. 

“Oh yeah?” Chloe asked. 

“Yup.” Beca popped her p.

Chloe moved closer to her mate in bed. Her hands slowly worked the knot out of the tie on her robe before pulling the two sides open.

“Want to give me some ideas?” Chloe asked. 

“I think you’re doing alright just on your own.” Beca shifted closer to press her lips to Chloe’s. 

For the rest of the night the two of them got lost in each other. There was something about the give-and-take between them that the bond only served two let them explore more deeply. Every touch was magnified and every sensation was made to feel deeper.

In the early morning hours as half a moon hung overhead Chloe held her sleeping mate in her arms and marveled at how in love she was. She had searched for so long for someone who made her feel half of what Beca did. She closed her eyes and a smile came to her eyes, a smile came to her lips as she fell asleep.

—————

Emily opened the door when she heard a soft knock. She opened it to Benji standing in front of her in his grey suit and tie with flowers in his hands. 

“Hi.” Benji leaned in to kiss her, passing her the flowers in the process. 

They looked read but soon Emily figured out they were silk. Each of them had drops of what looked like water on them and the leaves had hand painted veins.

“I figured these would be easier to take care of.” Benji explained when Emily looked up at him.

“You are the best.” Emily set the flowers down on her bed before kissing him firmly. 

“And you look amazing.” Benji took in the red dress she wrote that made her look like some sort of model. 

“Thanks.” Emily felt her cheeks warm. “Where are we heading?” She asked, shutting the hotel room door after grabbing her purse. 

“I can’t tell you.” Benji smiled. “But I promise that you’re going to love it.”

The pair walked out into the New York night. When they got inside of a cab Benji gave an address but Emily looked out the window, watching the city go by without knowing where they would end up. 

When the cab stopped again it was right outside of one of the hottest restaurants in the city. 

“I can’t believe you got us a table here. When I looked it up online they said it was a three month wait.” Emily said in an excited voice as she got out of the cab.

“I put a reservation request in four months ago. I knew you guys would make it to the finals even before the semi finals and you mentioned this place. I figured it was a pretty safe bet that you would go with me.” Benji admitted as he played with his tie little bit. He wasn’t used to dressing up quite like this.

Emily‘s eyes went large as she broke out into a wide grin. Benji doing things like this for her always made her feel like he really did pay attention. 

“Best boyfriend ever.” Emily wrapped her arms around his waist because in public she couldn’t kiss him the way she wanted to.

When they reached the table he pulled her chair out for her before taking his seat. He felt a sudden wave of nerves as they sat across from each other. It felt so out of place for both of them but he wanted her to get the meal she’d been dreaming about since she heard about this place when they were watching the Food Network one night trying to relax and put the thought of class out of their head. 

“I know this place isn’t really our style but thank you for bringing me. It really does mean a lot to me.“ Emily smiled across the table at them as she looked down at her menu.

“I don’t think you realize it. But I would do just about anything if it put that smile on your face.” Benji admitted, his ears going pink. 

Emily broke out into a wide grin as she looked at him. She looked back down at her menu again with a blush on her cheeks. She wondered when he would figure out that she would do just about anything he asked too.

Both of them placed their orders with a slight amount of nerves at the rich food they ordered. Everything sounded so good that they weren’t quite sure what to get so both of them decided on a different option and had all intent to split it with the other.

“I wanted to talk to you about our summer plans. I am going to audition for a few shows back home in Pittsburgh. There’s a couple local places that do shows every summer. I wasn’t sure if maybe you’d want to come see a couple if I got a part?” Benji said. 

Emily perked up at the thought of Benji getting to do some theater. “I would love to come see you in Pittsburgh even if you don’t get a part. But you’re totally going to get a part because you’re so talented.”

Benji‘s ears went red again at the praise from his girlfriend. It wasn’t unexpected because she was his biggest fan but every time she did it he felt his heart flutter a little bit. 

“Thanks.”

“I really don’t have many plans this summer. Hang out with some friends from high school and maybe do some fun stuff. Going to Pittsburgh and seeing you would be the highlight of all of it. I mean any time we’re together is pretty great.” Emily smiled. 

“My parents already said that you could come for a couple weeks. I wanted to ask them before mentioning it.” Benji beamed. “I do magic shows sometimes too, maybe you could come to one of those?”

“Can you saw me in half?” Emily’s eyes lit up. 

“There’s no one else in my life I wouldn’t wanna saw in half more than you.” Benji beamed at her. 

As he sat there in a fancy restaurant with his tie on and his hand in hers he was hopeful one day the mark on his shoulder would turn into rings on both their fingers.

—————

The music in the club was thumping loudly as five of the Bellas all crowded around a table. While Beca and Chloe decided to stay in, Stacie and Aubrey decided to explore the city a bit and Benji had a surprise planned for Emily so the other five decided to check out the nightlife New York was so famous for it.

“This place is so much cooler than the clubs around campus. Whoever is DJing this place might give Beca a run for her money.” Jessica said over the music. 

“I can’t believe that the fake IDs we got us all worked. I really thought that bouncer was going to give us more trouble.” Ashley had her arm wrapped around her mate. 

“My guy is good.” Cynthia-Rose said proudly. 

“Let’s dance. The night is young.” Flo moved from the chair she had been sitting in and grabbed onto Lilly’s hand as everyone headed to the dance floor.

All five of the women were good dancers and it didn’t take them long to find a rhythm to the music that was being played. There was an intoxicating mix of being young and enjoying the moment. All of them knew that they had to save some of their energy for tomorrow but at the moment the music was making it hard to remember that they needed anything left in the tank.

Ashley and Jessica seem to be in their own little world as they danced with each other. The room was dark enough for both of them to feel comfortable dropping their fangs as they gave in to their desire to move against each other like nobody else could see them. It wasn’t nearly as sexual as some of the dancing on the dance floor but it was more than either of them are normally do in public.

Cynthia-Rose found a woman with long black hair and a wide smile to dance with. The two of them moved against each other like they'd been dancing together for years. It wasn’t often Cynthia Rose got a chance to go out to any of the werewolf bars or gay bars in the towns around campus. After a year of dating the same person she realize that she wasn’t in a place or dating really was an option. She needed to figure out herself a lot more before committing to someone like more than half of the Bellas seem content to do.

Lilly and Flo dance together. Neither of them seem particularly interested in dancing with anyone else at the moment. Sometimes one or both of them would turn to dance with someone else before gravitating back towards each other. Neither of them was seriously looking for anything more than a dance partner for half a song or so at the moment. 

Ashley made sure to have a timer on her watch so at midnight she would get an alert and they could start considering heading back to the hotel. She knew if they weren’t back at a reasonable time that Aubrey would somehow know and not only would she know but she would punish them for their negligence the night before finals.

For several hours the group danced and had some drinks and took turns guarding the bathroom door for each other. There was a joy in being young and in the city and not needing anything but friends to hang out with.

“We need to plan more nights out like this in Atlanta next year.” Jessica said as they all walked back to the hotel just after midnight.

“I forgot how much fun it is just to dance. And not have to worry about if my choreography is sharp.” Cynthia-Rose said with a smile. 

Everyone split up when they got back to the hotel to go to their rooms. Each brushing their teeth and changing their clothes and sliding into bed. Tomorrow was the final and tonight deserved a good night's sleep to prepare for it.

—————

Stacie made the executive decision they should enjoy what New York City had to offer on their night off instead of sitting in the hotel room worrying about the final as Aubrey was prepared to do. 

They were currently walking hand-in-hand in Central Park, enjoying the warm spring air.

“You were right about getting out of the hotel.” Aubrey admitted as they strolled. 

“I have been known to be right now and then.” Stacie bumped her hip against Aubrey’s. 

“I must be rubbing off on you.” Aubrey teased back. 

Stacie just chuckled as they wandered around the park, not really planning to see or do anything but send time together. Stacie wanted to try to give Aubrey a relaxing evening so her mind would not trigger any panic response before they performed. 

“Tomorrow…” Aubrey looked over at her mate. “Tomorrow four years of my life is going to be over. I’m always going to be a Bella but tomorrow is the last time I’m going to take the stage as a Bella. I’m really glad it’s going to be with you, with this group.”

While Stacie wanted to try to keep Aubrey’s mind off of tomorrow but she didn’t want to change the topic when Aubrey was looking at her like she was. 

“I’m really glad I’ll be there too.” Stacie found a bench, the pair sitting down and looking at the large reservoir. 

Aubrey leaned against Stacie as they watched some birds playing on the water. The sun had gone down about an hour ago but the air hadn’t seen all that much dip in temperature. Still Stacie wrapped an arm around Aubrey’s shoulders. 

“I got a letter before we left.” Aubrey said softly. 

“Oh yeah?” Stacie turned to look at her.

“Barden law school accepted my application.” Aubrey looked into Stacie’s eyes with a proud smile on her face. “I will be able to stay in Georgia for the next three years.”

“Aubrey.” Stacie leaned in to kiss her deeply at the news. “I am so proud of you. Not surprised - at all - but so proud.” 

Aubrey lifted a hand up to stroke Stacie’s cheek. “I might have been able to do it without you but this year has so many little memories that I will keep with me because of you. My life is better because of you.”

Stacie leaned in to press her forehead to Aubrey’s. Her eyes closed as she breathed in the scent of her mate, the person she was bound to and who bound themself to her. 

“I don’t want to think about what a world without you looks like for me. I want you to be there side by side with me as you work in law and I work in science. I want all the milestones with you over the years, I want the good times and maybe even some not so good ones if that’s what it takes for us to make it through.” Stacie lifted her hand to rest over Aubrey’s. 

“When did you get so sappy?” Aubrey asked, her voice full of affection. 

“About the time you climbed onto my bike and we went for our first ride.” Stacie whispered.

“When we get back can we go for a ride on your bike?” Aubrey requested. 

“I would love that.” Stacie shifted her head to press a kiss to her mate’s cheek. 

Aubrey stood up, holding her hand out to Stacie. “Let’s go back to the hotel. There are things I want to do to you tonight that I believe we may be arrested for if we do them in public.”

“Oh yeah?” Stacie smirked. “Tell me more.”

“I much rather show you.” Aubrey smirked back.

—————

The Bellas all stood together as they waited to go on. They had worked all year toward this moment, all ready with their Bellas scarf proudly displayed. Each had one a bit of the traditional uniform with their own spin on it. 

“Whatever happens out there this year has been aca-amazing.” Aubrey looked at Chloe with a smile before she looked at the Bellas. “I am proud of all of you.” 

“We are going to kill this.” Cynthia-Rose said determinedly. 

“I have a really good feeling.” Stacie rubbed down Aubrey’s back.

“I really am glad I know you awesome nerds.” Beca admitted as she and Chloe held hands. “We’ve got this.”

“Hands in.” Aubrey called for a final time as the group before them finished. 

“On three or after three?” Beca smirked.

“On three.” Aubrey smirked right back.

The Bellas walked out on stage, each taking their places. Aubrey took in and let a breath before blowing the pitch pipe. This was it. This was her and Chloe’s very last Bella performance. 

If you asked Aubrey or Chloe what happened between the pitch pipe sounding and the crowd cheering for the Bellas as they finished they wouldn’t have been able to tell you. The rush had caused the two seniors to run on auto for their very last moments as the current Bella captains.

“We’re going to fucking win.” Beca hugged tight to her mate. She could feel it in her bones. There was just something about how they managed to bring it all together tonight that made her sure of their victory. 

“That was amazing.” Ashley beamed as she and the others left the stage so things could be set up for the announcements. 

“We’re going to at least place.” Aubrey said, sure of that even if she couldn’t remember the performance itself. 

“We’re winning.” Lilly said, loud enough for the others to hear.

Cynthia-Rose looked at her roommate with a smile. “Lilly’s right. We’re taking this.”

All of the groups - five in total - that performed tonight were brought back on stage. Aubrey and Chloe holding hands as they stood in front as the two captains. The rest of the Bellas were holding hands behind them. 

The two teams that got honorable mentions were called forward. Then third place was called, going to The Beltones of Belmont University. 

Now it would be time for the winners to be announced, it was between the Tarpeggios of UNC and the Bellas by all accounts. The Bellas all closed their eyes. This was it. Either they won or they would be second place. 

“And the winners of this years ICCA final are … the Barden University Bellas!”

Time stood still for the Bellas before Chloe pulled Aubrey into a tight hug as the captains cried tears of joy at managing to bring the first ICCA win to the Bellas. 

For Aubrey it didn’t really, truly, hit her until that night at the hotel. After getting the trophy and hugging each of the Bellas - it was a special night after all - they headed back for the after party. 

“You did it, you really did it little sister.” Alex wrapped her arms around Aubrey. “You and Chloe delivered on the dream all other Bella captains have tried to deliver.” She kissed her cheek before stepping back to take Sam’s hand again. 

“I still am in a little disbelief.” Aubrey admitted, her hand finding Stacie’s.

“We’re really proud of you two.” Sam smiled from Alex’s side. 

“Thanks Sammy.” Stacie smiled back at her sister. “I’m really glad that you made it. And Mom and Dad did too, right? I thought I saw them in the crowd.”

“We’re here, Stacia.” Billy said, opening his arms from behind his daughter. He hugged her tightly when she turned. “I’m proud of you honey. You did great.”

“Thanks Dad.” Stacie stepped back. 

“You did great too, Aubrey.” June smiled as she appeared next to Billy. 

“Thank you.” Aubrey smiled. 

“You certainly did.” Bellatrix Blanchet looked every bit as intimidating in this setting as she did in any other. Her mate at her side in his uniform.

“Mother, Daddy?” Aubrey turned to look at the pair. 

“Your father had a meeting in New York and we happen to be able to swing by and see you perform.” Bellatrix smiled at her daughter. Her fangs were held back for once, a sign of respect for her daughter that she wasn’t flashing them at the moment.

“You all did so well.” Alexander said seriously. “You made me proud out there girls.”

“Thank you.” Aubrey had always wanted her father to say those words to her. Hearing them felt better than she thought they could. 

On the other side of the room Warren and Susan were standing with Beca and Chloe. The step monster unable to make it because of a work trip she couldn’t avoid. 

“You all looked so good out there.” Susan smiled at the pair. 

“Thanks Mom.” Beca said, looking like she was waiting for her parents to transform and attack each other.

“Your mother and I have decided to try and be civil around you, Beca. Something we should have done years ago.” Warren gave her a slightly tight smile.

“It’s nice to be able to see you both at the same time.” Beca admitted. She could feel Chloe sending all of the love she could through their bond to try and keep her calm.

“Totally.” Chloe smiled as she held on to Beca’s hand. “You did so well with your solo.” She watched a video on the same back to remember what happened out there.

“Thanks babe.” Beca beamed under Chloe’s praise. 

Chloe looked from her mate over to Jessica and Ashley standing there with their parents. She was glad to see all six had smiles on their face.

“We can’t wait to have you both in Jersey for a few weeks this summer.” Ashley’s mother said with a smile. She had come around to her daughter and Jessica becoming mates. She had never seen Ashley thriving like she was since she met Jessica.

“I can’t wait to see it.” Jessica and Ashley had their arms wrapped around each other, standing as close as they could get. The two vampires found that the usual distaste vampires had for touch just didn’t apply to them.

“I want to take you to all my favorite places.” Ashley smiled.

Jessica leaned into her a bit more. “I can’t wait to see.”

The Jones and Smiths looked at each other as their daughter’s looked at each other like they were the only two in the room. Whatever speed related questions they had, no one who watched them could deny they were a perfect match. 

Cynthia-Rose and her dad hugged when he walked in, her mom and sisters couldn’t get the time off but he managed to switch some of his shifts around. 

“You got your rapping skills from me if anyone asks.” Richard grinned at his youngest daughter. 

“Sure I did, Pops.” Cynthia-Rose laughed as she stepped back. “I’m really glad you could come.”

“Your sisters and your mom want me to tell you when you come home, they are having a big party for you.” Richard wished with them being in New Jersey it worked out for them to make it. But fate hadn’t been that kind, he did have it recorded on his phone though. 

“Hey Flo, come meet my dad.” Cynthia-Rose called to the freshman. 

“Hello Mr. Adams.” Flo smiled. 

Flo’s aunt coming make it up but they just spent twenty minutes talking to each other on FaceTime. All of her cousins and other aunts and uncles over to watch the steam one of them found. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Flo.” Richard said. 

Lilly was signing away with her parents as the three of them caught up. She was glad to see that her parents enjoyed the show even if they weren’t able to hear her beatboxing or the other Bellas sing. But they understand what was happening.

“Excuse me.” Emily came over. “Your parents are hearing impaired?” She asked to which Lilly nodded.

“It’s very nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Onakuramara. My name is Emily.” Emily signed to the both of them. “Lilly has been hanging out with me all year, she’s a great friend.”

“You know ASL?” Lilly asked as she signed. 

“It was offered in my high school.” Emily explained, signing as she spoke. “Thought being able to talk to more people would be useful and respectful.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Emily.” Mr. Onakuramara signed to her. 

The four of them chatted for a while, Emily getting to use her ASL skills and the Onakuramara’s happy that Lilly had made such strong friends. Lilly was just happy she didn’t have to do all the translations. 

Emily excused herself when she saw her mom and dad walk in. She grinned as she made her way over, hugging her mother tightly. As the older Bella was nearing in tears she was so proud.

“I have waited over twenty years to see the Bellas take the ICCA title. And you helped make it happen, Emily.” Katherine kissed both of her cheeks before pulling her back into a hug. “I am so proud of all of you.”

“Thank you Mom.” Emily wiped at the tears that came to her eyes. Her mother being proud of her was enough to get her all gushy inside but being proud of her as a Bellas was more impactful still. 

“You did great, Emmy.” Her father hugged her tightly. 

“Thanks Dad.” Emily smiled. 

Emily looked from her parents to Benji as he came in the room. The pair met a few feet away, Benji lifting her off of her feet before setting her back down. Both of them knew what an accomplishment what the Bellas just did was and Benji couldn’t have been prouder. 

“Aca-awesome out there, Emily.” Benji grinned.

“You have been hanging out with the Bellas too much.” Emily teased.

“I like the Bellas.” Benji pressed his forehead to hers. “I love one of the Bellas though. Really good singer, sweet as apple pie.”

“Jessica?” Emily teased.

“Yup. How did you know?” Benji laughed. 

“I’m on to you two.” Emily kissed him but kept it short, remembering her parents were right there watching.

“You really did amazing.” Benji pulled back to keep at her. 

“Next year do you think your Treblemakers will be trying to take our title?” Emily asked.

Benji just grinned. “You can count on it.”

—————

The last full moon of the semester was already starting to make the werewolves in Bella House a little itchy. Each ready to take to the field and run around one last time before heading home for the summer. 

“Here ya go.” Jessica smiled as she handed the cubed meat to Ashley to put in the cooler. Helping prep for the werewolves and sitting with them at night had become enjoyable. 

“Thanks.” Ashley smiled as she shut the last cooler. 

“Everything ready?” Aubrey asked as she and Stacie walked into the kitchen, Stacie’s fingers drumming against her leg as she tried to release some nervous energy. 

“Just about.” Jessica smiled. “Benji is meeting us there.”

Aubrey turned around and looked at her mate. “Go call everyone down so we can head out?” She kissed Stacie’s jaw, seeing the golden tint to her eyes.

Stacie walked into the living room and gave a howl to let everyone know they were heading out in five minutes. One by one they all came downstairs, grabbing a blanket or a cooler and helping to move everything to their field.

“Room for one more?” Sam asked when they all reached the field. 

“What are you two doing here?” Stacie asked, pulling a cooler with water inside. 

“Well.” Alex smirked. “I talked someone into applying to Barden and they got in.”

“Seriously?” Stacie grinned.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me.” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Come on.” Aubrey smiled at Alex. “Help us set everything up while they transform.” 

The Posen sisters walked to the shelter so they could sort all of the supplies. Aubrey knew how and where everything needed to go to make sure that the night went smoothly. 

“You’re really sticking around?” Aubrey asked, her eyes soft as she looked at Alex. “Mother is allowing that?”

“She is.” Alex helped to get everything out on the platform. “At least until Sam has her degree. Small things here and there but all local to the southeast.”

“It will be nice to have you around.” Aubrey admitted.

When they turned back around the werewolves had all changed their form, each having put their blanket down. They watched as the wolves sniffed each other and ran around, enjoying the warm weather and the fact they were so close to end of the school year. 

“Hey, Alex. Didn’t know you were joining us tonight.” Jessica smiled as she, Ashley and Flo made it to the platform. Flo usually didn’t stay all night but spent a few hours with the group before going back to Bella house to sleep. 

“Didn’t know if we were, decided to crash it at the last moment.” Alex smiled at the other two vampires.

Benji joined them after a few moments. “Sorry I’m late. I had to help Jesse. He tried to dye his hair blonde and it turned bright orange on him.”

“Idiot.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

All of the wolves, the four vampires and the two humans watched as a figure walked towards them. For a long while they couldn’t tell who it was but none of them felt threatened. 

“What did I miss?” Fat Amy asked, smoothie in her hand. 

“We won the ICCA final.” Ashley said when the others were rendered a bit speechless she showed up before the end of the year. 

“Crushed it.” Fat Amy pumped her fist. 

The wolves all turned toward the moon when the clouds moved back to show it off against the dark night’s sky. They let out a loud howl as a group. 

“I think their harmony has gotten even better since the first full moon.” Jessica smiled as they all sat down. 


End file.
